Sykia

LocationSykia

Sykia is a town and seat of the former Municipality of Toroni and now Municipality of Sithonia in the prefecture of Chalkidiki. It is the southernmost and most isolated village of Sithonia, 160 km from Thessaloniki. The village is about 2 km from the main road to the hinterland. In the surrounding area there are wonderful beaches. The houses retain their traditional color in terms of Mount Athos architecture.

The settlement existed from the 14th century, under the name Logos and was based in the administrative district called “Kapetanikio Apro”. Later the village and the surrounding area with the fertile estates was an Athirian treasure. The locals were renowned warriors and unruly people and participated in all the revolutions that took place in Chalkidiki against the Turks.

Its present name the village owes it to a large fig tree (sykia) located outside the village, or in another version that it is built in the shadow of Mount Athos. The village has managed to maintain well enough its traditional architectural physiognomy. The locals are very hospitable people and retained their own local dialect and special dances. It has nice, small, narrow streets with well-kept houses, with loggias and terraces.

The imposing stone church of St. Athanasius, built in 1814, was destroyed in 1854 by the Macedonian chieftain Tsami Karatasos (who locked in the church the Turks who had so far defied Sykia and burned them) and was rebuilt in 1856. Next to the church there is the magnificent old school of the village with the stone columns, built in 1870.