Palaiokastro

LocationPalaiokastro

Palaiokastro (and Paliokastro) is a village and homonymous municipal district of the municipality of Polygyros in the prefecture of Chalkidiki. The location of the settlement is to the north of Polygyros in the Holomount mountain range. It is 8 km from Polygyros. The main occupation of the inhabitants is agriculture (grain production) and logging, while many inhabitants also work in the mines of Gerakini. The main church is that of St. Athanasius. On the day of Epiphany, the Athletic and Cultural Association revives the traditional custom of “Fotaron”. Local festivals in the area are also celebrated, one of them is the festival of Ag. Friday in the chapel of “Vatonia”, where there is a festive evening.

The history of Paleokastro is long and is really lost in the depths of the ages, starting from the copper age. A feature of this course in time is the frequent changes of the village’s location within a very small geographical area. Confirmed are five such changes of location that witness the chronological continuation of the village. The last movement and installation took place at the present location of the village, with the name “Isimoma” and later “Crossing”. The cause was the earthquake that occurred in 1956. The first 13 houses started to be built in 1962. The place was chosen because it was then an important hub at the central road network of central Halkidiki.

The first name of this village was Agia Paraskevi, as it is mentioned in an Ottoman document of 1699, (there is a dual name, Agia Paraskevi & Kagiatzik). The name Kajatzik (Kaitzik) is a paraphrase of the Turkish word Kajatzik, which means “a place full of rocks” or “rocky terrain”. Obviously, this name was given because of the slumber and inconspicuous relief that dominates the surrounding area. A few years after 1912 and the liberation of Halkidiki, the new village name was chosen to be Palaiokastro, thanks to the old castle located northeast.

The castle that gave the name to the village occupies the top of a hill with a maximum altitude of 767m. and has a great viewing position. In the area of the old village, which has been declared a preservative, many stone houses are preserved. Agia Paraskevi, the first parish church of the old village. The stone church of Agios Athanasios in the old village built in 1864, while its bell tower was built in 1909. The stone primary school in the old village. There are ruins of two watermills, Manika and Bari on the river Kavrolakka, as well as the dritastas, a remnant from the monastery of Filotheos in Loutniki. The stone chapels of Zoodochos Pigi, Agia Paraskevi, Saint Christopher and the Prophet Elias, built after 1830. The bases of four stone bridges are preserved, on the old Turkish road to Polygyros, at Paliokyfiro, Agia Paraskevi, Messios Bridge and Shit. The forest of Paleokastro, which occupies the south-western part of Mount Holomontas, dominated by the oaks and crossed by the rivers of Vatonia and Kavrolakka. There are several caves around the village, with Triakotrypa or Drakotripa in the east and Gourna in the west.