3/31/2023
ΝΕΑ ΠΟΤΙΔΑΙΑ ΧΑΛΚΙΔΙΚΗ /NEA POTIDAIA HALKIDIKI
Nea Potidea: The canal of Kassandra, that unites Thermaikos and Toroneos
Let’s look at some basic facts about the area of Nea Potidaia which is located in Halkidiki.
Nea Potidea (or Nea Potidea or simply Potidea) is a large seaside settlement in the Municipality of Nea Propontida, Halkidiki prefecture. The settlement was founded by Asia Minor and Eastern Thracian refugees during the population exchange of 1923.
Its population is 1,559 inhabitants, based on the population census of 2011. It is located 6 kilometers south of Nea Moudania, at the narrowest point of the Kassandra peninsula. The residents are engaged in tourism businesses and fishing.
Basic historical data:
The area was a Corinthian colony from the 7th century BC. It took part in the Battle of Plataea and its name is mentioned in the brass monument of the Tricarine Ophi dedicated to the Greek city-states that participated in the battle. It soon developed into an important city in Halkidiki and in fact its defection from the Athenian Alliance was one of the reasons for the Peloponnesian War. The well-known Athenian philosopher Socrates also took part in the battles that followed. In the year 357 BC it was occupied by Philip II and destroyed, while its inhabitants were exiled. After its reconstruction by Cassander, it was named Kassandria, which flourished in the Roman years, when Roman colonists settled. In the 1st century BC the original canal already existed, which was about 500 meters further north, outside the northern wall of Kassandros.
In 540 AD Cassandria was destroyed by a Hun raid and re-founded by Justinian, occupying a small part of the city of Cassandra. Then the “wall” was built, the ruins of which are preserved, and the canal was opened, approximately in its current position. The rampart and the canal were repaired by the “Despot” (king) of Thessaloniki, John VII Paleologos, in 1407, and improved by the Venetians (1424-1430).
It was destroyed by the Turkish and rebuilt by Asians-Minor. In 1430 Halkidiki was submitted to the Turks. The rebel Greeks fortified themselves in this battlement in 1821. The settlement was destroyed in 1821 by the Turks, after the holocaust of Kassandra. The current village was built in 1923 by Asia Minor and Thracian refugees in 1923, on the site of the old destroyed settlement. The refugees came from Platanos in Eastern Thrace and from Kalolimnos in Asia Minor. The Thracian refugees from Platanos in Eastern Thrace also brought the icon of Saint George to their new homeland.
The main attraction of Nea Potidea is the Kassandra canal, which unites the two gulfs, Thermaikos and Toroneos, thus facilitating navigation. The Potidaea Canal was opened by Xerxes to facilitate his passage to mainland Greece.
