Ouranoupoli

LocationOuranoupoli

Ouranoupolis is a seaside village in the prefecture of Chalkidiki and the last cosmic destination before going to Mount Athos. It is also the homonymous Municipal apartment in the Municipality of Aristotle. Its distance from Thessaloniki is 132 km and from the seat of the Municipality. The inhabitants are mainly engaged in tourism and fishing.

The present village was built in the place of an ancient city. The latter was founded in 315 BC. by Alexarchos, who was Cassander’s brother. He built Ouranoupolis on the ruins of ancient Sani, which had been destroyed by Philip II. It is the same city (Graveyards) of ancient geographers. In coins that have been found, the words “Uranian City” and “Uranids of the City” appear in the form of the goddess Ourania Aphrodite. It was Metochi and the estate of the Vatopedi monastery. In the southwest of the village is the 14th-century Tower of Ouranoupolis, renovated after an earthquake in the 19th century, and today one of the adjoining buildings houses the Community Offices.

After the Asia Minor catastrophe refugees from the islands of Marmaras in Propontida gather in this area, finding a roof in Pyrgos, its nearby buildings and tents. In 1926 the first houses of the village were built by a German company, some of which are still preserved. Later, the inhabitants built the Church, the School and began to organize a community called “Prosforion”, then “Pyrgos” and around 1960 it gets its definitive name “Ouranopolis”. In 1928 the Lock couple installed in the tower is connected to the village life. The collaboration of the couple using patterns copied from the monastery codes with village residents who know the art of carpet, sets the foundations of a local craft that has given work and income to many families. In the 60s come the first tourists, roads are built, electricity comes, the hotel Xenia is built.

Today Ouranoupoli is considered one of the most important resorts in northern Halkidiki In the summer months, cruises from the port of the village on the west side of Athos can be seen every day, where you can see (from afar) all the monasteries there. It can still enjoy the sea on its beautiful and clean shores or take a sea view on the opposite islands, Drenia. For those who love nature there are plenty of walks in the nearby olive and pine hills. They also have the opportunity to visit the “Serbian” area on the northern side of the peninsula or the “Zygou Monastery” just 2 km from the village. The village can visit the Byzantine tower in a wing of which there is an exhibition of Byzantine antiquities and icons.