Koufalia ( el, Κουφάλια) is a municipal unit and a town of the Chalkidona municipality. Koufalia is the seat of the municipality of Chalkidona. Before the 2011 local government reform it was a municipality.

Administrative division

The municipal unit of Koufalia consists of two communities: *Koufalia (population 8,139) *

Prochoma Prochoma ( el, Πρόχωμα, ) is a village and a community of the Chalkidona municipality. Before the 2011 local government reform it was part of the municipality of Koufalia, of which it was a municipal district. The 2011 census recorded 1,214 ...

(population 2,440) The aforementioned population figures are as of 2011.

Geography

Koufalia is located 35 kilometres North-West of the City of

Thessaloniki Thessaloniki (; el, Θεσσαλονίκη, , also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece, with over one million inhabitants in its Thessaloniki metropolitan area, metropolitan area, and the capi ...

, and virtually by the

Axios Axios commonly refers to: * Axios (river), a river that runs through Greece and North Macedonia * ''Axios'' (website), an American news and information website Axios may also refer to: Brands and enterprises * Axios, a brand of suspension produ ...

river. The community of Koufalia covers an area of 67.591 km² while the municipal unit covers an area of 106,128 km².

History

Koufalia is built north of the ancient city of

Ichnae Ichnae or Ichnai (Greek: Ἴχναι) an ancient town of Bottiaea, Macedonia (region), Macedonia on the Thermaic Gulf, above the mouth of Loudias river, near modern Koufalia ; built by the Macedonians according to Hazlitt, although Ichnaeans ap ...

(''IXNAI''). Most of its population originates from the town of Kavakli in

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...

. They moved to the area after the 1919 signing of the

Treaty of Neuilly The Treaty of Neuilly-sur-Seine (french: Traité de Neuilly-sur-Seine) required Bulgaria to cede various territories, after Bulgaria had been one of the Central Powers defeated in World War I. The treaty was signed on 27 November 1919 at Neuilly ...

between Greece and Bulgaria that forced a population exchange between the two countries. In return the mostly

Bulgarian Bulgarian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Bulgaria * Bulgarians, a South Slavic ethnic group * Bulgarian language, a Slavic language * Bulgarian alphabet * A citizen of Bulgaria, see Demographics of Bulgaria * Bul ...

Brancoff, D.M. "La Macédoine et sa Population Chrétienne". Paris, 1905, pp. 218-219 population of the village immigrated to Bulgaria, settling mainly on the Black Sea coast, in the area of Anchialo. The population called the city Koufalovo ( bg, Куфалово). There are also Ntopioi and

Greek refugees Greek refugees is a collective term used to refer to the more than one million Greek Orthodox natives of Asia Minor, Thrace and the Black Sea areas who fled during the Greek genocide (1914-1923) and Greece's later defeat in the Greco-Turkish War ...

from

Asia Minor Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The re ...

and

Thrace Thrace (; el, Θράκη, Thráki; bg, Тракия, Trakiya; tr, Trakya) or Thrake is a geographical and historical region in Southeast Europe, now split among Bulgaria, Greece, and Turkey, which is bounded by the Balkan Mountains to t ...

Culture

It has a number of cultural organisations, the main one being “Megas Alexandros” (

Alexander the Great Alexander III of Macedon ( grc, wikt:Ἀλέξανδρος, Ἀλέξανδρος, Alexandros; 20/21 July 356 BC – 10/11 June 323 BC), commonly known as Alexander the Great, was a king of the Ancient Greece, ancient Greek kingdom of Maced ...

); it was founded in 1980. It has its own lending library as well as a blood bank for humanitarian purposes. Every year it organises the “River Party” on the banks of the Axios river, from 24–26 July, and religious festivals ( el, πανηγύρια).

References

{{Chalkidona div Populated places in Thessaloniki (regional unit)