Far and near – the village of many places

A village in many places

After the destruction of the war, the Kokkinoplites built new lives in Kalyvia, in Pieria, in Katerini and Thessaloniki, in Attica, and as far away as America, Australia and Germany. The mountain village became quieter, while Kalyvia, once a seasonal settlement, grew into the largest home of the community.

Census	Kokkinopilos	Kalyvia
1951	732	752
1981	639	614
2021	110	420

The ties that remain

Distance never broke the bond. The families kept it alive through the feast of Agia Paraskevi, the summers spent in the old stone houses, and the gatherings of Kokkinoplites from everywhere. From the 1950s, children’s summer camps also brought new life to the mountain.

The associations

Wherever the Kokkinoplites settled, they came together. The Kokkinoplites Association of Pieria “O Olympos” was founded in Katerini as early as 1951 and has had its own home there since 1991. In Attica, where many families live, the Cultural Association of Kokkinoplites of Attica “O Olympos” was recognised by the court in 2017. In the village itself, the Beautification and Cultural Association “O Agios Athanasios” and the Cultural Association of Kalyvia “O Olympos” look after the places and the traditions.

The page Kokkinoplites around the world gives each community its own place.

The village today

The Pieria association describes today’s village as a picturesque place on the slopes of Olympus, with few people in winter and many more in summer, and with many families rebuilding their houses. Among its sights it names the churches of Agia Paraskevi, Agios Charalampos and Agios Athanasios, the Agioneri, the square with its centuries-old plane tree, the mesochori and the kiosk, the old orchard, the many springs, Kroutseli and Tsiamara.

The trails of Olympus start here, via Roudi or Stalagmatia, or towards Xirolakki through the valley between Olympus and Voulgara, once busy with watermills and fulling mills. Many of today’s residents of Dion, on the Pierian side of the mountain, are also of Kokkinopilos descent.