Founded in 2015, the social cooperative “Agkistro Drasi” works to preserve, protect and promote the historical heritage of the Roupel Gorge, developing initiatives that connect history with culture, education and tourism.
Its statutory aims focus on the Metaxas Line, the Battle of the Forts of 1941 and the Cold War period (1947–1991), when the Greek–Bulgarian border divided two different worlds.
Through Agkistro Action, its alternative tourism agency licensed by the Greek National Tourism Organisation, it organises historical tours and experiential activities at decommissioned fortifications and battlefields, developing Military & Memory Tourism.
In 2016 it proposed “ROUPEL 1941 – THE REENACTMENT” to the municipality of Sintiki and organised its first edition. The event developed into an important historical reenactment tradition in Greece.
It has also held events and photographic exhibitions in collaboration with the War Museum and published works including the illustrated “Roupel 1941 – The Comic” and the photographic album “1941–2021: 80 Years since the Battle of the Forts”.
Its work has received distinctions, including in ERT’s Social Growth competition (2017) and the social entrepreneurship awards of the Region of Central Macedonia (2019).
In 2025 it created the Belles WWII Memorial Centre in Neo Petritsi, combining historical exhibits, audiovisual productions and modern virtual reality (VR) technology.
Agkistro Drasi aims to turn historical memory into a living learning experience and a driver of sustainable development for the wider Sintiki area.