Municipal Unit of Anthemountas

A small town situated in the slopes of Omvrianos, 24 miles away from Thessaloniki, with 2,710 inhabitants according to the population census of 2011. Galatista is one of the oldest villages in Chalkidiki with plenty of major archaeological findings brought to light inside the village as well as in the surrounding plains. In the Byzantine Tower of Galatista the visitor can admire built-in architectural features of a Christian Temple.

The architecture of the traditional Macedonian houses of the village, two-storey, double-fronted with interior balconies and orientation towards the plains are of great interest for the visitor. Galatista has many churches and chapels such as the ones dedicated to Saint Dimitrios, Saint Paraskevi, Saint Nikolaos, The Virgin Mary and Saint John the Baptist. Because of its mountain, Galatista has many founts of unique beauty such as the Fount of Saint George and the Serbian Fount. At the west end of the village, the Primary School is a piece of art. A two-storey building made of stone with spacious rooms and ancillary areas where remarkable exhibitions are often held. Galatista owns its name - as tradition has it - to the Queen Galatea and her husband, Anthemios, who has also offered Galatista the name of Anthemous.

The Settlement of Saint Anastasia founded in 1979 is located between the Prefectures of Chalkidiki and Thessaloniki. It consists of three settlements, Settlement A, B, and C and occupies an area owned by the Monastery of Saint Anastasia as a result of a donation by the Empress Of Byzantium Theophano who founded the monastery in 888 A.D.

The inhabitants of the area fought against the Turks during the Greek Revolution of 1821. All the villages of the premises were destroyed by the Turks in the latter’ s attempt to repress the Revolution. The self-sacrifice and the heroism of Captain Stamos Hapsas during the Greek Revolution was impassionated as he committed himself to an unrelenting fight to protect the civilians who had sought shelter inside the monastery of Saint Anastasia. In the battlefield, on the tenth of June of 1821 all fighters were killed up to one. Today a monument stands in the spot to remind the visitor of the sacrifice of those brave fighters.

In recent years the Settlement is being developed considerably as a result of the increase of the permanent inhabitants who have contributed significantly to the upgrading of the place with infrastructures, tree planting and a range of actions and events beneficial to the community.

Vavdos is a village built amphitheatrically on the slope of Mount Vigla at an altitude of 938 metres from the sea level. There are 391 inhabitants in the village according to the population census of 2011.

In the central square of the village there is a huge plane tree, which is one of the largest in the whole Prefecture and in 1976 it was declared a Preserved Natural Monument. The biggest magnesite stone deposit in Greece was found in the village of Vavdos. For years mines had been operating in the area. Because of its good climate, Vavdos had also been a renowned rehabilitation centre for plenty of years.

The Municipal Department of Galarinos is built in the fertile valley of Anthemounta. There are 332 inhabitants in the village according to the population census of 2011.

As far as the origins of the village’s name Galarinos, there prevail three versions. The first version claims that the name comes from the word gala (=milk) and the verb reo (=flow), gala-reo = Galarenos and later on Galarinos. The second version claims that the village’s name comes from the chromium mines found in the south-eastern area of the village. From the mine galleries the village was named «Gallaries = Galarinos». And the third version claims that the name Galarinos comes from the Roman Emperor Galerius and therefore the correct name of the village is «Galerinos» and not «Galarinos».

The village is built on the slopes of the Mountain Kourtina. Its population amounts to 450 people, according to the population census of 2011. Doumbia is famous for its mineral water springs of the same name, hardly 1,2427 miles to the west of the village.

Visitors can walk through the forest with the centuries-old oak trees and visit the five watermills while at the same time in a distance of 1,8641 miles to the north of the village excavations of the Archaeological Services have brought to light part of the ancient city of Kalindoia.