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Litochoro ( el, Λιτόχωρο, ''Litóchoro'';
Katharevousa Katharevousa ( el, Καθαρεύουσα, , literally "purifying anguage) is a conservative form of the Modern Greek language conceived in the late 18th century as both a literary language and a compromise between Ancient Greek and the contempo ...
: Λιτόχωρον) is a town and a former municipality in the southern part of the Pieria regional unit,
Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...
. Since the 2011 local government reform it has been part of the
Dio-Olympos Dion-Olympos ( el, Δίον-Όλυμπος, ''Díon-Ólympos'') is a municipality in the Pieria regional unit, Central Macedonia, Greece. The seat of the municipality is the town Litochoro. The municipality has an area of 495.314 km2. Municipali ...
municipality, of which it is the seat and a municipal unit. It is located at the base of
Mount Olympus Mount Olympus (; el, Όλυμπος, Ólympos, also , ) is the highest mountain in Greece. It is part of the Olympus massif near the Thermaic Gulf of the Aegean Sea, located in the Olympus Range on the border between Thessaly and Macedonia, be ...
, on the western shore of the
Thermaic Gulf The Thermaic Gulf (), also called the Gulf of Salonika and the Macedonian Gulf, is a gulf constituting the northwest corner of the Aegean Sea. The city of Thessaloniki is at its northeastern tip, and it is bounded by Pieria Imathia and Laris ...
. The first recorded mention of Litochoro is in an account of a visit by Saint Dionysius (Greek: Άγιος Διονύσιος) to Mount Olympus in the 16th century. The town is a popular destination for those wishing to climb Mount Olympus as almost all climbing routes begin to the southwest of the town. A famous son of the town was Christos Kakkalos, who first ascended first Mount Olympus in 1913.


Geography and information

Litochoro is located 22 km S of
Katerini Katerini ( el, Κατερίνη, ''Kateríni'', ) is a city and municipality in northern Greece, the capital city of Pieria regional unit in Central Macedonia, Greece. It lies on the Pierian plain, between Mt. Olympus and the Thermaikos Gulf, ...
, 90 km SSW 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 metropolitan area, and the capital of the geographic region of ...
, 58 km N of Larissa and 420 km WNW of Athens, on the eastern slopes of Mount Olympus, of mythological fame as the home of the twelve gods of Olympus. Two important ancient sites are located in the neighbourhood of Litochoro. Dion with its large archaeological park and a
museum A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and other objects of artistic, cultural, historical, or scientific importance. Many public museums make these ...
is located about 8 km to the north.
Leivithra Leibethra or Libethra, in the modern pronunciation Leivithra ( gr, Λείβηθρα or Λίβηθρα) was an ancient Macedonian city at the foot of Mount Olympus, near the present settlement of Skotina. Archaeologists have discovered tombs ther ...
with its acropolis and the Leivithra Park is about 9 km to the south. The municipal unit has an area of 169.632 km2. Pine, cedar and fir trees of the forests of Mount Olympus lie to the southwest and northwest. Much of the land around Litochoro, in particular to the South, remains uncultivated. Farmland is predominant to the North. Litochoro has several restaurants and cafeterias.


Climate


Facilities

Litochoro has
school A school is an educational institution designed to provide learning spaces and learning environments for the teaching of students under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is sometimes compuls ...
s,
bank A bank is a financial institution that accepts deposits from the public and creates a demand deposit while simultaneously making loans. Lending activities can be directly performed by the bank or indirectly through capital markets. Because ...
s, a
post office A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letters and parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post offices may offer additional servi ...
, a harbour, a
sports centre A leisure centre in the United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland, Ireland, Australia (also called aquatic centres), Singapore and Canada is a purpose-built building or site, usually owned and operated by the city, borough council or municipal district N ...
, a
town hall In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or a municipal building (in the Philippines), is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually house ...
, a
hospital A hospital is a health care institution providing patient treatment with specialized health science and auxiliary healthcare staff and medical equipment. The best-known type of hospital is the general hospital, which typically has an emergency ...
, a
museum A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and other objects of artistic, cultural, historical, or scientific importance. Many public museums make these ...
, a
concert hall A concert hall is a cultural building with a stage that serves as a performance venue and an auditorium filled with seats. This list does not include other venues such as sports stadia, dramatic theatres or convention centres that may ...
, a gym, shopping facilities and squares. There are two main churches: Agios Nikolaos in the centre and Agios Dimitrios in the North. Litochoro has one of the most traditional cemeteries of Greece, known as ''Agios Athanasios'', in the north of the town.


Places of Interest

Olympus National Park Information Center Important information is provided here for visitors of Mount Olympus National Park. The Information Center informs their visitors about the geology, archaeological sites, mythology, monasteries, plants, animals and other subjects affecting Mount Olympus. Alexandrion (Litochoro) Located beside the highway (GR-1/E75), th
Alexandreion
is an impressive monument-building devoted to
Alexander the Great Alexander III of Macedon ( grc, Ἀλέξανδρος, Alexandros; 20/21 July 356 BC – 10/11 June 323 BC), commonly known as Alexander the Great, was a king of the ancient Greek kingdom of Macedon. He succeeded his father Philip II to ...
. Visitors will get informed about his life and his military campaign. The Nautical Museum At Agios Nikolaou 15, on the first floor, resides th
Nautical Museum of Litochoro
Rather unknown, the village has a lon
maritime history
to tell. The old Monastery Agios Dionysios At an altitude of 850 m, beside the Enipeas gorge
Saint Dionysios
built a monastery. Founded 1542, its name was Agia Triada, what means Holy Trinity, later changed to the name of the Saint. Plundered and burned several times in its history, it received the final blow from German troops in April 1943. The new Monastery Agios Dionysios After the old monastery was destroyed, the monks moved to the
Metochion A ''metochion'' or ''metochi'' ( gr, μετόχιον, metóchion or gr, μετόχι, metóchi; russian: подворье, podvorie) is an ecclesiastical embassy church within Eastern Orthodox tradition. It is usually from one autocephalous or ...
three kilometers outside of the village and made the place their new monastery.


Settlements


Pláka

An extended coastal area known as Pláka or Pláka Litochorou (Πλάκα Λιτοχώρου) is located east of the town of Litochoro, spreading from the foot of Olympus to the
Thermaic Gulf The Thermaic Gulf (), also called the Gulf of Salonika and the Macedonian Gulf, is a gulf constituting the northwest corner of the Aegean Sea. The city of Thessaloniki is at its northeastern tip, and it is bounded by Pieria Imathia and Laris ...
and extending from Leptokarya in the south to Gritsa in the north. The E75 highway passes through the area of Plaka to the south of Litochoro. The coast mainly consists of sandy beaches with seaside resorts as well as hotels, campsites, restaurants, and beach bars (which mostly operate during the summer season from June to September). In the area of Plaka there are private residences, luxurious villas, and cottages.


Gritsa

North-east of Litochoro (North from Pláka) the coastal area continues, known by the name Gritsa or Limenas Litochorou extending from Pláka in the south to the community of Variko in the north. Sandy beaches can be also found here but the tourist facilities are much less than Pláka's. Yet here are some cottages and a luxury hotel (Dion resort). Gritsa is also the port of Litochoro, even though its capacity is restricted.


Access and transport

Since the 1960s Litochoro has been served by an interchange with GR-1/ E75 to its east. In the mid-1990s, parts of the Greek national road from Athens to Thessaloniki were upgraded to motorway standard. Litochoro is on the Northern stretch of this 6 lane dual carriageway, 90 km from Thessaloniki. Its nearest beach is 5 km to the east.
There is a regular bus service to
Katerini Katerini ( el, Κατερίνη, ''Kateríni'', ) is a city and municipality in northern Greece, the capital city of Pieria regional unit in Central Macedonia, Greece. It lies on the Pierian plain, between Mt. Olympus and the Thermaikos Gulf, ...
and a local train service (one train approximately every two hours in each direction) to
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 metropolitan area, and the capital of the geographic region of ...
and Larissa, where there is an interchange with the main line to Athens. Because Litochoro railway station is about 6 km away from Litochoro and 1 km from the nearest bus stop, people wishing to take the train often take the bus to
Katerini Katerini ( el, Κατερίνη, ''Kateríni'', ) is a city and municipality in northern Greece, the capital city of Pieria regional unit in Central Macedonia, Greece. It lies on the Pierian plain, between Mt. Olympus and the Thermaikos Gulf, ...
and take the train from there. Taxis are to be found in abundance. * Litochoro acquired some fame during the 1999
NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two Nor ...
war in
Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...
when allied naval forces arrived on the beach of Gritsa; an action which provoked a reaction by the town's people that opposed the intervention. The event was broadcast live on CNN International.


Historical population


See also

*
List of settlements in the Pieria regional unit This is a list of settlements in the Pieria regional unit, Greece. * Agiannis * Agia Varvara * Agios Dimitrios, Katerini * Agios Dimitrios, Dio-Olympos * Agios Spyridonas * Aiginio * Alonia * Alyki * Andromachi * Ano Agios Ioannis * A ...


References


External links


Litohorian Brotherhood Olympos of New YorkThanasis Tsifodimos blogWebsite of ancient Leivithra and LeivithraparkLitochoro Village at Visit Olympus
{{Municipality of Dio-Olympos Populated places in Pieria (regional unit) Mount Olympus