Agia Paraskevi is a village in the prefecture of Chalkidiki. It is administratively owned by the Municipality of Kassandra. From 1999 to 2010, according to the administrative division of Greece, it was the seat of the municipal district of the Municipality of Pallini.
It is located in the hinterland of Kassandra, surrounded by pine forest. It was named after the church of the same name, located on the outskirts of the village. The “holy” (as the inhabitants of the area call it) with its rich historical tradition was destroyed three times before and during the 1821 revolution. The inhabitants are mainly engaged in beekeeping and olive-growing
In the village there is a cultural club called “Chalkidi”. The inhabitants of Saint Paraskevi participated in the revolution of 1821. A great fighter of the Revolution of 1821 was Ioannis Androulis, Christodoulos Dimitriou, Ioannis Georgiou, Ioannis Psaras, Angelis Kyritsis and others. From the village came the Macedonian fighters Konstantinos Sarafianos and Konstantinos Karageorgis. His inhabitants also starred in the National Resistance against the Germans. Near the village, at the site of “Avara”, the ruins of a Roman settlement have been identified, which should probably be related to the utilization of the neighboring thermal baths
The inhabitants of the village, simple and hospitable, will be delighted to introduce the visitor to the secrets of beekeeping, which is the main occupation along with the cultivation of the olive tree. In the village there are small, picturesque taverns with traditional delicacies and mezedes of Chalkidiki, always accompanied by local ouzo or tsipouro. The visitor has the opportunity to wander in the narrow alleys of the village and escape the beautiful paths that are carved in the lush forest.
Five kilometers south of Saint Paraskevi, in front of the sea, lies the settlement Loutra, which consists mainly of holiday houses, rooms to let and hotels. The residents, who live permanently in Loutra, are mainly engaged in fishing, beekeeping, olive cultivation and tourism. The settlement was named after the thermal springs, renowned for their healing properties. The first source was discovered by a farmer who was looking for sulfur to sprinkle his vines. After the end of the Second World War, the residents blew the rocks with dynamite and spilled the hydrosulphur water at a temperature of 39 o C from the volcano, where the new Thermopigi was created. Originally it was named the source of Saint Nicholas and later Saint Paraskevi. At the site of the springs, in the first years a small parapet with two halls was created and in 2000 the new ultra-modern building was built. Thus, a small spa was developed, the source was dedicated to the grace of the Zoodochos spring and reconstructed its chapel.
