The finding of a Greek inscription of Roman (Imperial) times supports the conclusion that in the place of the present village there was an ancient settlement, whose residents were engaged in the exploitation of the iron mines of the mountain
Vrontous. Brodi (now Vrontou) was first mentioned in the 14th century in a letter from the Serbian tsar
Stefan Dušan to Rayko, the ruler of Brodi and Trilisa (now
Vathytopos). The Ottomans conquered the area and ruled until the
Balkan Wars. Prior to the Second Balkan Wars, it had a Bulgarian majority and a Turkish minority. It had around 2,700 Bulgarian-speaking inhabitants in 1873. By 1900, its population rose to 6,100
Bulgarian-speaking Christians. In 1905 according to the secretary of the exarch
Dimitar Mishev the settlement had around 6,480 Bulgarian
exarchists and 240 Bulgarian
patriarchists, making it one of the largest places in the area. The village had a large activity by
VMORO in an Ottoman province. In 1903, the large settlement was visited by
Gotse Delchev from the Vanisha. In 1913, it had 1,100 houses and 8,000 inhabitants. In the Balkan Wars, the area was conquered and occupied by
Greece and most of its residents fled northward to Bulgaria, 200 of them to Nevrokop (now
Gotse Delchev) and 300 fled to
Plovdiv. Approximately 20 families remained to Ano Vrontou. The village's population was boosted in 1925 by
Karamanlides Greeks that fled from the Cappadocia Region of Asia Minor, after Greece's defeat in the
Greco-Turkish War (1919–1922). The location of the village, at the border with Bulgaria was a factor that contributed to its growth, during the years 1925 (arrival of Cappadocian Greeks) – 1941 (
Third Bulgarian occupation of Eastern Macedonia and Thrace). During the occupation, its inhabitants were forced to relocate lower, and the village was inhabited by 40 Bulgarian families, which remained there until late 1944. After the
liberation of Greece from the Axis occupation, the inhabitants returned to Ano Vrontou, only to leave it 2 years later, in 1946, after the command of the Greek army, because its mountainous terrain made it a very appealing spot for the Greek Communists, who could use it for hiding or for reinforcements, during the
Greek Civil War (1946–1949). The village was burned to the ground, possibly by the Greek army, in order to prevent the Greek partisans from using it as a base, since its location upon the mountains made Ano Vrontou unreachable. After the war, in 1950, the inhabitants were forced to rebuild the village. == Etymology ==