Kassandra Κασσάνδρα | |
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 Kassandra municipality | |
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  Kassandra | |
| Coordinates:40°01′22.54″N23°26′0.28″E / 40.0229278°N 23.4334111°E /40.0229278; 23.4334111 | |
| Country | Greece |
| Administrative region | Central Macedonia |
| Regional unit | Chalkidiki |
| Seat | Kassandreia |
| Area | |
• Municipality | 334.3 km2 (129.1 sq mi) |
| • Municipal unit | 206.1 km2 (79.6 sq mi) |
| Population (2021)[1] | |
• Municipality | 16,861 |
| • Density | 50.44/km2 (130.6/sq mi) |
| • Municipal unit | 10,526 |
| • Municipal unit density | 51.07/km2 (132.3/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC+2 (EET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+3 (EEST) |
| Postal code | 631 00 |
| Area code | 23710 |
| Vehicle registration | ΧΚ |
Kassandra (Greek:Κασσάνδρα) orKassandra Peninsula (Χερσόνησος Κασσάνδρας,Chersónisos Kassándras) is a peninsula and a municipality inChalkidiki,Macedonia,Greece. The seat of the municipality is inKassandreia.[2]
The municipality Kassandra was formed at the 2011 local government reform by the merger of the following 2 former municipalities, that became municipal units (communities in brackets):[2]
The municipality has an area of 334.280 km2, the municipal unit 206.097 km2.[3]
Pallene (Greek:Παλλήνη) is the ancient name of the westernmost of the three headlands ofChalcidice, which run out into theAegean Sea.[4] It is said to have anciently borne the name ofPhlegra (Φλέγρα)[5] and to have witnessed the conflict between the gods and the earthbornGigantes.[6] The modern name of the peninsula is Kassandra, which, besides affording excellent winter pasture for cattle and sheep, also produces an abundance of grain of superior quality, as well as wool, honey, and wax, besides raising silkworms.[7]
In antiquity, Pallene was the site of numerous towns:Sane,Mende,Scione,Therambos,Aege,Neapolis,Aphytis, which were either wholly or partly colonies fromEretria.
The narrow isthmus of Potidea was later expanded into a canal, reportedly between the 4th and 1st centuries BC under King Cassander of Macedon, thereby transforming the peninsula into an artificial island.[8]
After the founding of the Roman colony ofCassandreia (43 BC), located at the site of ancientPotidaea, the entire peninsula of Pallene was included in the colony territory.[9]Strabo[10] mentions five cities of Pallene at the turn of the eras: Cassandreia, Aphytis, Mende, Scione and Sane.
InLate Antiquity, the center of the peninsula was the city of Cassandreia or Kassandreia. Apolis and a bishopric, Cassandreia was destroyed by theHuns in 539 or 540 AD.[11] After this, EmperorJustinian I built a wall at the entrance of the peninsula, but it is not until the 10th century that a sizeable settlement—described as a township (polichnion) and later as a fortress (kastron)—re-appears in the peninsula and that the bishopric is mentioned again, as asuffragan ofThessalonica.[11] The area prospered due to its fertility, and both Thessalonians as well as the monks of the growing monastic community at nearbyMount Athos had estates there.[11]
In the winter of 1307/08, the peninsula and the city were seized and held by theCatalan Company during their move fromThrace to southern Greece.[11] The 14th-century historianNikephoros Gregoras describes Kassandreia as "abandoned" during his time, and sometime before 1407, EmperorJohn VII Palaiologos rebuilt the old fortifications of Justinian. As ade facto annex of Thessalonica, the peninsula shared the city's fate and came under a briefVenetian control in 1423, before being captured by theOttoman Empire in c. 1430.[11]
Kassandra (Turkish:Kesendire) was one of the places that rebelled against theOttomans in 1821. Because it managed to stop the Turkish army from fighting the rebels in southern Greece, the entire peninsula was burnt by the Turks. Many refugees moved with fishing boats to the islands ofSkiathos,Skopelos,Alonnisos andEuboeia. In 1912 it became a part ofGreece.
The peninsula was lined with paved roads in the mid-20th century. Tourism also arrived after the war period ofWorld War II and theGreek Civil War. More paved roads were added in the 1970s and the 1980s and tourism developed rapidly. Agriculture shifted to tourism and other businesses as the primary industry of the peninsula in the 1980s. The eastern coastal strip from Kallithea down toPefkochori became especially built up with resorts.
On August 22, 2006, the peninsula was struck by a major forest fire that affected the central and the southern parts of the peninsula, on the day of the heatwave when temperatures soared to nearly 40 °C. Several houses were destroyed including villas, hotels and a campground, while the natural beauty was erased. It burnt large areas of forests including some farmlands. The cause of this tremendous fire was dry lightning which occurred throughout the evening. The forest fire lasted nearly five days and devastated the economy and the peninsula. Villages that were affected wereChanioti,Nea Skioni,Polychrono,Pefkochori and Kriopigi. The forests mostly recovered again after 10 years.
Cassandreia istwinned with the following cities:
This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Smith, William, ed. (1854–1857). "Pallene".Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography. London: John Murray.
Media related toKassandra at Wikimedia Commons
Administrative division of theCentral Macedonia Region | ||
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| Regional unit ofChalkidiki |  | |
| Regional unit ofImathia | ||
| Regional unit ofKilkis | ||
| Regional unit ofPella | ||
| Regional unit ofPieria | ||
| Regional unit ofSerres | ||
| Regional unit ofThessaloniki | ||
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