Nikiti ( el, Νικήτη) is a

village A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to ...

located 100 kilometers south-east 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 ...

on the

Chalkidiki Chalkidiki (; el, Χαλκιδική , also spelled Halkidiki, is a peninsula and regional unit of Greece, part of the region of Central Macedonia, in the geographic region of Macedonia in Northern Greece. The autonomous Mount Athos region co ...

peninsula A peninsula (; ) is a landform that extends from a mainland and is surrounded by water on most, but not all of its borders. A peninsula is also sometimes defined as a piece of land bordered by water on three of its sides. Peninsulas exist on all ...

in Macedonia,

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 ...

. It is the seat of both the municipal unit and municipality of

Sithonia Sithonia ( el, Σιθωνία), also known as Longos, is a peninsula of Chalkidiki, which itself is located on a larger peninsula within Greece. The Kassandra Peninsula lies to the west of Sithonia and the Mount Athos peninsula to the east. Sithon ...

. The town has a preserved old part of town. The newer part of town is located on the seashore, where the beach and newly built marina are located.

History

The

ancient Greek Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic peri ...

city of Galypsos was located south of Nikiti near Kastri beach. There are remains of an early

Byzantine Greek Medieval Greek (also known as Middle Greek, Byzantine Greek, or Romaic) is the stage of the Greek language between the end of classical antiquity in the 5th–6th centuries and the end of the Middle Ages, conventionally dated to the Ottoman co ...

church dating to the 5th century near Agios Georgos beach on the Nikiti foreshore. The old part of Nikiti village dates to the beginning of the 14th century when inhabitants moved inland to avoid pirate raids. The old village is located on a hilly area a few hundred meters from the sea, with the church of Saint Nikitas at the highest point of the village. Nikiti was under Ottoman Turkish rule from the 15th century until liberation in the

Balkan Wars The Balkan Wars refers to a series of two conflicts that took place in the Balkan States in 1912 and 1913. In the First Balkan War, the four Balkan States of Greece, Serbia, Montenegro and Bulgaria declared war upon the Ottoman Empire and defe ...

of 1912. The town suffered further in the 1940s during

World War Two World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

and fighting in the

Greek Civil War The Greek Civil War ( el, ο Eμφύλιος �όλεμος ''o Emfýlios'' 'Pólemos'' "the Civil War") took place from 1946 to 1949. It was mainly fought against the established Kingdom of Greece, which was supported by the United Kingdom ...

. In the 1950s peace returned and the village started to expand downwards to the coast significantly. In the 1970s the coastal plain was included into plans for the village's development and many new buildings were built there. The most important economic sector in Nikiti is tourism. Tourism boomed in the 1980s when Nikiti beaches such as Ai Yiannis, Kalogria and Lagomandra became popular. After 2010, the Nikiti beach front was also redeveloped and a marina built. Other important economic activities in Nikiti are

beekeeping Beekeeping (or apiculture) is the maintenance of bee colonies, commonly in man-made beehives. Honey bees in the genus '' Apis'' are the most-commonly-kept species but other honey-producing bees such as ''Melipona'' stingless bees are also kept. ...

and olive growing.

Population

The population of Nikiti in 2011 was just over 2,700 though in summer this expands to around 20,000. The permanent population are mostly indigenous Greeks, though there are also many Greeks from

, Germans, Austrians, Russians and Albanians who own homes or work in the summer months.

Tourism

Chalkidiki is a popular summer tourist destination since the late 1950s when people from

started spending their summer holidays at coastal villages like Nikiti. In the beginning tourists rented rooms in the houses of the villagers. By the 1970s tourists from

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

and

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

started to visit Chalkidiki more frequently. In the 1980s the big tourist boom started. After 2010 many tourists from neighbouring countries such as

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe, Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Bas ...

and

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 ...

predominate. In 2015, a

marina A marina (from Spanish , Portuguese and Italian : ''marina'', "coast" or "shore") is a dock or basin with moorings and supplies for yachts and small boats. A marina differs from a port in that a marina does not handle large passenger ships o ...

was constructed. The closest airport is 90 km away near

. Sightseeing in Nikiti includes the architecture and old churches of the old town, the cafes and bars on the waterfront which are busy in summer, and the beaches to the south of Nikiti including Kalogria beach, Agios Ioannis beach and Lagomandra beach.

Gallery

Image:Nikiti_old_1.JPG , Old house in Nikiti File:Παλιά Νικήτη - panoramio (3).jpg, Old house Image:NikitiNokturnal.jpg , Nikiti port by night File:Новая церковь в Никити - panoramio.jpg, A church File:Ai Yiannis beach in Nikiti.jpg, St. John beach

References

External links

History of Nikiti
{{Sithonia div Populated places in Chalkidiki