Katerini, Pieria Regional Unit, Central Macedonia, Greece

🇬🇷 Katerini 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, at an altitude of 14 m. The municipal unit of Katerini is the second most populous urban area at the Region of Macedonia after Thessaloniki. The close distance between two cities, has been beneficial for Katerini's development over recent years. Katerini is accessible from the main Thessaloniki–Athens highway GR-1/E75 and the Egnatia Odos to the north. It is served by Intercity, Proastiakos and local trains on the main railway line from Athens to Thessaloniki and there is a comprehensive regional and national bus service with its hub in the city.

A popular tourist destination in northern Greece, Katerini is close to the sea (7 km) and to several archaeological sites of great interest such as the ancient city of Dion (5th century BC, 17 km away), the ancient Leivithra (27 km away), ancient Pydna (16km away) and the Castle of Platamon. The beaches of Korinos, Kallithea, Paralia, Peristasi and Olympiaki Akti (or Katerinoskala) are visited by both Greek and foreign tourists during the summer. The base of Mount Olympus and the town of Litochoro, are at a distance of around 20 km from the centre of Katerini, whereas there is the Ski centre of Elatochori in Mount Pieria at a distance of 33.4 km from the city's centre.

History The origin of the name is obscure. Since the 13th century, travellers as well as maps record the existence of a settlement called Hatera (Ἅτηρα), which may have been the origin of the modern name. Thus Felix Beaujour recorded its name as "Katheri", while François Pouqueville gives the name of the settlement as "Kateri Hatera". According to another theory, the city derives its name from the small chapel dedicated to Saint Catherine (Aikaterini in Greek) to the east of the city, dating to at least the early 19th century. The latter hypothesis influenced official usage in Greek, where the city is found as "Aikaterini" or "Agia Aikaterini" until the early 20th century, when the vernacular name Katerini prevailed.

According to the reports of travellers, at the turn of the 19th century, the city had four to five thousand inhabitants, mostly Greeks. In 1806, William Martin Leake recorded 100 hearths, while four years later Daniel recorded 140. For the remainder of the 19th century, the number of homes remained steady at about 300, with a population in 1900 of 2,070 Orthodox Christians and 600 Muslims.

The city was captured by the Greek 7th Infantry Division on 16 October 1912, during the First Balkan War, and has been part of Greece since then. With the population exchange between Greece and Turkey in 1923, the city's Muslims left, and Greek refugees, particularly from Eastern Thrace and Greek Evangelicals from Asia Minor, took their place, almost doubling the city's population from 5,540 in 1920 to 10,138 in 1928.

Geography The Municipality of Katerini was formed on 1 January 2011 with the Kallikratis Plan government reform by the merger of the following 6 former municipalities, that became municipal units of the newly formed Municipality of Katerini.

Sights Eleftherias (Liberty) Square, Main Pedestrian Street, Main Pedestrian Street – Fountain, Town Hall Square, Civil School of Katerini (Astiki Scholi Katerinis), Art Center "Nine Muses", Macedonia Square (formerly Republic Square), Municipal Park of Katerini, Conference and Cultural Center of Katerini "Ekavi", Folklore Museum of the Union of Pontians of Pieria, Municipal Library, Park of the Evangelicals, Municipal Traffic Education Park (Road Safety Park), Tobacco Station of Katerini, Cathedral Church of the Holy Ascension, Church of Panagia Zoodochou Pigis – Peristasi, Evangelical Church of Katerini, Turkalbanian Tekke, Katerini Railway Station, Fortress of Katerini Railway Station, Platanodasos of Neokesaria, Monument of Colonel Svoronos, Macedonian Tombs of Korinos, Korinos beach, Kalithea beach, Paralia Katerinis, Paralia Katerinis – Port, Paralia Katerinis – Pier, Olympiaki Akti (Olympic Coast or Olympic Beach), Peristasi beach.

Local delicacies Katerini is located near several villages which are renowned for their high quality products. In particular kiwis and cherries are one of the more important productions in the region, as well as strawberries. There is also cultivation of tobacco in the region and lot of people spend considerable resources for its development and for exports of the product.

Economy

Tsalopoulos mansion

Katerini Beach

Katerini Municipal Park

Katerini is the administrative and economic centre of Pieria. The Chamber of commerce and industry of Pieria is based in Katerini. The same applies for the Union of Agricultural Cooperatives of Pieria and the Union of hotel owners of Pieria.

Agriculture

Katerini lies in the middle of a plain and thus, it is greatly an agricultural city. As of 2000 26,775 people were occupied in agriculture, in Pieria. The Union of Agricultural Cooperatives of Pieria has 9,000 members, of which 2,000 grow tobacco. Kiwifruit is also produced in Katerini.

Tourism

Katerini is a popular tourist destination, that attracts tourist both from Greece and abroad. Within the boundaries of the municipality, there are over 230 hotels that can accommodate more than 8,600 people. The vast majority of the tourist infrastructure lie in Paralia and Olympiaki Akti, where between them there is a bicycle lane, and it also includes tens of tavernas and cafes. Winter tourism has started developing in the area, since the construction of the Elatochori ski resort. Katerini is surrounded by ancient archaeological sites as Dion, Leivithra, Pydna, Louloudies and Platamon Castle which are worth a visit. Olympus Festival is an annual festival of music and theatre major cultural event, taking place at several venues such as the Hellenistic theatre of Dion, organized by the Organization of Festival Olympou (OR.FE.O).

Transport The national bus service is from the Katerini long-distance bus station of coach KTEL. The local bus lines serve the connection between Katerini and its nearby settlements. The bus hub is in Katerini and it has lines towards Moschochori, Paralia, Olympiaki Akti, Dion, Pieria, Aronas and Nea Trapezounta. These lines serve all the settlements that lie between Katerini and the aforementioned final destinations.

Road transport Katerini is served by A1 and National Road 1 that run north-south from Evzonoi to Athens. The connection between Katerini and Elassona is served by National Road 13. Single carriageways run from Katerini to every settlement of the Pieria. Bus lines, delivered by the Intercity KTEL of Pieria, connect Katerini directly with Athens, Thessaloniki, Elassona, Alexandreia and all the settlements of Pieria that are not served by the Urban KTEL of Katerini. There are also privately held international bus lines that connect Katerini with several cities in Albania and Bulgaria.

Rail links Katerini railway station is located just outside the city centre. The main line of the Greek railway system that connects Athens with Thessaloniki passes through Katerini. As a result, the city is connected directly with Larisa and Thessaloniki via the Proastiakos. It is also connected with Athens and all the intermediate stations by Intercity train lines.

Local communities Katerini is home to a significant Aromanian population that exceeds 3,000 people. Aromanians of Katerini mainly descend from nearby Aromanian settlements of Livadi and Kokkinopilos, and in lesser numbers from Samarina, Moscopole, Avdella, Perivoli and Smixi. According to some sources the Aromanians formed a majority amongst the city's Christian population in the beginning of the 20th century.

Immigrants As of 2001, the Municipal unit of Katerini (then Municipality of Katerini) was home to 2,794 foreign nationals (4.9% of the total population). Amongst them the most populous ethnic group was Albanians (2.5%) followed by Georgians (0.5%), Russians (0.4%) and Bulgarians (0.3%).

Religion The Diocese of Metropolis of Kitros, Katerini and Platamonas has 16 congregations within the city of Katerini. There is also an Old Calendarist church in the city. Katerini has a relatively numerous Protestant community, as a result of the organised settlement of Evangelical Greek refugees from Asia Minor and Pontus (region). Today the Greek Evangelical Church of Katerini has almost 1,100 followers. Other Protestant denominations, that have a church within the city, are the Free Apostolic Church of Pentecost, the Greek Apostolic Church of Pentecost and the Seventh-day Adventist Church. The Protestant community is fully integrated in the life of the city, but in the past there were tensions between the Evangelical community and the Greek Orthodox majority. These tensions led to the arson of the Evangelical Church of Katerini from a Greek Orthodox mob in March 1930.

Public education The Katerini city public schools is a part of the public education system consisting of member schools include, the Preschool, Primary, Secondary (Katerini City Gymnasium, Katerini City High School, and others), Post Upper Secondary, and Higher Education. From 2006 to 2016 was operating the now-defunct Second Chance Seminary School of Katerini of the Ministry of Education and Religious Affairs which was a two years public ecclesiastical lifelong learning education boarding school located in the suburb of Prosilio housed in the Ecclesiastical Guesthouse of the Diocese of Metropolis of Kitros, Katerini and Platamonas. near the Ecclesiastical Nursing Home.

Sport: Football Katerini is represented by two football teams in the national leagues; Pierikos, a club currently playing in the Football League 2, and the women's football club of Pierides Muses, playing in the Women's Second National Division.

Other Sports Pierikos-Archelaos B.C. currently competes in the A2 League, the second tier of Greek basketball. GAS Archelaos plays in the A2 League the second tier of the Greek handball league system.