NEA POTIDEA
.
NEA POTIDEA
also know as the city of Flegra, or Pallini in ancient times.
A Corinthian colony and with the
name of Potidea was for a while - from the 7th century B.C. and on - a member
of Athenian Alliance. In 357 B.C. it was destroyed by Philippos, the king of
Macedonia but was rebuilt in 316 B.C. by Kassandros, who gave the new city the
name Kassandria and also opened the canal which secured the whole peninsula. It
was besieged by the Romans and the Goths and destroyed by the Huns in 540 A.D.
It was rebuilt by the Byzantine emperor Justinian and fortified with a wall
parallel to the canal. In 1426 the wall was reinforced by the Venetians and in
1821 it was restored by the local rebels (against the Turks) who defended
themselves behind it. On 14 November 1821 the Holocaust of Kassandra took
place. The village of today was rebuilt in 1922 by refugees from Eastern
Thrace. It is inhabited by 1500 people. Its patron saint is St George whose
icon was brought by the refugees from Platanos of Eastern Thrace. Other
churches: Panagia Phaneromeni (Virgin Mary), the picturesque little church of
St Nicholas, and 1500m from the village, St Efstathios (1872) of the Holy
Monastery of Dochearion. There is also a settlement, belonging to the
community, which consists of holiday lodgings, discos, pubs, all kinds of
restaurants, confectioneries, a cinema, cafeterias and a wonderful golden
beach.
Local celebrations
June 22 and 23 St John’s: old
customs revived.
August 23: A feast dedicated to
Virgin Mary. 3 day cultural manifestation by the Cultural, Educational
Association of Potidea, with traditional dancing groups, exhibitions, puppets,
celebrations and treatments of wine and pies by the local housewives.
November 14: the Holocaust of
Kassandra.
Famous local products
Fish - seafood.
Sightseeing
•The Castle ruins: It is an almost
straight wall of about 1.200m which at various points is supported by square
towers. The two ends of the wall continue to the Toroneos and Thermaic Gulfs
respectively and terminate in towers in the sea. Thus when the gates were
closed (The "Doors", which are not preserved today) it was impossible
for anyone to enter the peninsula over land.
•The canal: Dimensions- length
1.250m, width 40m, depth 8m, bridge height 18m. It is not known when
the canal was dug for the first time.
Strabo (geographer, 1st cent. A.D.) mentions its existence. Up to 1967,
entrance to Kassandra was by what the locals called a "salli", a
pontoon drawn from one end to the other by wires. In about 1970, a big bridge
as built, solving Kassandra�s transportation problem.
•The Monument of the Destruction of
1821: This is located on a wooded hill south of Potidea.
•The chapel of Taxiarchon (The
Archangels): This is located one kilometre Southeast of Potidea, on the left
side of the road to Kassandra and at a distance of about 150m from it. It is
the only structure that has remained of the big "metochi"
(dependency) of the Dochiariou Monastery.
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