Stratoniki

LocationStratoniki

Stratoniki is a mountainous village in the prefecture of Chalkidiki. Its location is at the foot of the Stratonikos Mountain overlooking the Akanthos bay. It was included in the 12 Mademohoria villages and its inhabitants traditionally worked in the mines.

The name of the village is believed to be due to the sister of the Macedonian king Perdiccas, Stratoniki. Perdikkas built the town of Stratoniki in honor of his sister, according to guesswork. However, the real old name of the village until 1926 was Isvor. During the Ottoman rule (from the 16th century, when the mines were reorganized by the Sultan), the village was developed due to mines, in which Greeks, Jews, Turks, Kirkcans, Albanians and other peoples of the Balkans worked. In 1821 he actively participated in the revolution of Chalkidiki, highlighting fighters such as Dimitrios Stagiritis, Nikolaos Stagiritis, Nikolaos Klonis and others. From Stratoniki came the 19th century scholar Athanasios Stagiritis.

The history of the Stratonian area is linked to the rich in minerals – mainly silver, as the popular tradition has been saying since the time of Alexander the Great. Some of Stratoniki’s old houses have been preserved.

Cultural events take place in August on the 6th of December, in honor of Saint Nikolaos, dedicated to the main church in the village, and on December 27th the “patch of the party” is organized by the Stratoniki / Stagiron Women’s Association and they offer hot “meze” plenty of wine and tsipouro, live music and dancing by the clubs of the surrounding villages.