Cassandra History - Geography
Kassandra was one of the places that rebelled against the Ottomans in 1821. Because it managed to stop the Turkish army from fighting the south Greece rebels it was burnt from edge to edge. The refugees moved with fishing boats to the islands of Skiathos, Skopelos, Alonissos and Evoia. Nobody lived in the peninsula for more than 30 years. Then the population started to gather again. In 1912 it became a part of Greece.
On August 22, 2006, the peninsula was struck by a major forest fire (see also Forest fires in Greece, 2006) that affected the central and the southern parts of the peninsula, the day of the heatwave when temperatures soared nearly 40 °C. Several houses were destroyed including villas, hotels and one campground disappeared as the natural beauty was to be erased. It burnt about 1,000 to 20 square kilometres of forests including some farmlands. Aerial pictures were reported near Sani Beach inland to a point where pastures and mountain roads are located and saw smoke throughout the peninsula. It can be seen across the gulf. The cause of this tremendous fire was dry lightning occurred throughout the evening. Power were cut to all affected villages. The forest fire lasted nearly five days and devastated the economy and the peninsula. All roads in the southern part were closed. Villages that were affected were Chanioti, Nea Skioni, Polychrono, Pefkochori, Kriopigi, Kassandrino and near the coastline.
Tourism also arrived beginning after the war period of World War II and the Greek Civil War.
The municipality Kassandra was formed at the 2011 local government reform by the merger of the following 2 former municipalities, that became municipal units :Kassandra (Afytos, Fourka, Kalandra, Kallithea, Kassandreia, Kassandrino, Kryopigi, Nea Fokaia) - Pallini (Agia Paraskevi, Chaniotis, Nea Skioni, Paliouri, Pefkochori, Polychrono)
Kallithea is a village and seat of the Municipal Department of the Municipality of Kassandra Chalkidiki.
The main occupation of the inhabitants is tourism businesses. The village has a police, kindergarten and elementary school. It attracts hundreds of tourists every year because of its beaches and the developed tourist infrastructure
Petralona: Cave - Museum
The cave Petralona open to the public since 1979, a nakalifthikan Mars Paulianos traces of habitation Archanthropinae approximately 700,000 years.
Includes twenty Holy Monasteries and other monastic institutions and informally designated as "Autonomous Monastic State." It is the center of Orthodox Christian monasticism.
- Hanioti, 800 m
- Krypigi, 9 Κm .
- Polyhrono, 5 Κm
- Kallithea, 15 Κm
- Fourka, 25 Κm
- Paliouri, 15 Κm