| Loutrochori | |
| Name Local: | Λουτροχώρι |
| Type: | community |
| Periphunit: | Pella |
| Municipality: | Skydra |
| Population: | 399 |
| Population As Of: | 2021 |
| Coordinates: | 40.7167°N 28°W |
| Postal Code: | 585 00 |
| Area Code: | 23810 |
| Licence: | ΕΕ |
| Caption Skyline: | Panoramic view of Loutrochori in May 2004. |
| Elevation: | 90 |
Loutrochori(on) (Greek, Modern (1453-);: Λουτροχώρι(οv) meaning "bath town"; formerly Paina, Πάινα and Bania, Μπάνια meaning "baths")[1] is a village in the Pella regional unit, of Macedonia in Greece. Previously part of the community of Petraia, it became a separate community in 2020.[2] According to the 2021 census, it has a population of 399. The village is on a hill and thus it has a view of the surrounding countryside.
Loutrochori is situated 30km (20miles) north of the Egnatia Highway (or A2, the Greek part of the E90) and 10km (10miles) south of the EO2 (or E 86). The nearest railroad (train) stations, on the OSE's Thessaloniki–Bitola railway, are 3km (02miles) east (Petraia), 8km (05miles) southeast (Episkopi) and 9km (06miles) northeast (Skydra). The Loutrochori area was famous from ancient times for its spa. The spa (iamatica loutra, ιαματικά λουτρά) of Loutrochori (spa-drinking therapy)[3] is situated just 0.5km (00.3miles) away near the local mountain of Canber (358abbr=onNaNabbr=on).
The Loutrochori area has been a spa from the 4th century BC under the Macedonian Kingdom.
Modern Loutrochori is a relatively new village; it was founded in the 1920s by the first Greek refugees from Pontus, under the name "Μπάνια" (Bania).[1] After the Greek Genocide and the Greco-Turkish War (1919-1922), a large number of Pontic Greek refugees arrived at the village as a result of the population exchange under the Treaty of Lausanne. In 1926, the village's name was changed to "Λουτροχώρι" (Loutrochori).[1]
| Census | Population | |
|---|---|---|
| 1913 [4] | 23 | |
| 1920 [5] | 56 | |
| 1928 [6] | 165 | |
| 1940 [7] | 323 | |
| 1951 [8] | 367 | |
| 1961 [9] | 435 | |
| 1971 [10] | 391 | |
| 1981 [11] | 739 | |
| 1991 [12] | 483 | |
| 2001 [13] | 466 | |
| 2011 [14] | 458 | |
| 2021 | 399 |
The village's population grew rapidly after 1923. After the Second World War and the Greek Civil War, the population steadily declined as residents moved to larger towns and cities or emigrated.
The inhabitants are (100%) ethnic Greeks and Greek Orthodox Christians.
Loutrochori is the southwestern part of the municipality of Skydra. It is 21km (13miles) southeast of the regional unit capital of Edessa in Central part of Macedonia in Greece. Loutrochori is bounded by the Imathia to the southwest and it is 28km (17miles) northwest of the Imathian capital Veria. It sits at an elevation of around 90m (300feet) above mean sea level and the population is approximately from 500 (in winter) to 800 (in summer) inhabitants.
Loutrochori covers an area of some 7.506km2, between the mountains Vermio (2052abbr=onNaNabbr=on) to the southwest, Voras (2524abbr=onNaNabbr=on) to the northwest and Paiko (1650abbr=onNaNabbr=on) to the northeast.
Loutrochori is located at a distance of 533km (331miles) northwest of the present day Greek capital - Athens by road, 44km (27miles) north of the royal capital of ancient Macedon - Vergina, 40km (30miles) west of the first capital of the Greek Macedonian Kingdom and birthplace of Alexander the Great - Pella and 82km (51miles) northwest of Thessaloniki, the present-day capital of Greek Macedonia.
| color: colspan="2" style="background:#efefef; text-align:center; height:11px;" | Place - Regional unit | color: colspan="2" style="background:#efefef; height:11px;" | km - nm | |
| Plevroma | 2.5 | 1.6 | ||
| Polla Nera | 3.0 | 1.9 | ||
| Petraia | 3.5 | 2.2 | ||
| Rizo | 3.8 | 2.4 | ||
| Arseni | 4.8 | 3.0 | ||
| Marina | 6.7 | 4.2 | ||
| 7.4 | 4.6 | |||
| Kesariana | 7.4 | 4.6 | ||
| Sevastiana | 8.1 | 5.0 | ||
| 8.8 | 5.5 |
| color: style="background:#efefef; text-align:center; height:11px;" | Cities | color: colspan="2" style="background:#efefef; text-align:center; height:11px;" | km - nm |
| Naousa | 21 | 13 | |
| Edessa | 21 | 13 | |
| Veria | 28 | 17 | |
| Giannitsa | 32 | 20 | |
| Thessaloniki | 82 | 51 | |
| Kozani | 85 | 53 | |
| Larissa | 185 | 115 | |
| Kavala | 228 | 142 | |
| Athens | 533 | 331 | |
| Constantinople | 670 | 416 |
The average temperature is 14.8 degrees Celsius and the average rainfall about 470 millimetres per year.
Loutrochori has a Mediterranean climate with mild, rainy winters and hot, dry summers. The warmest month is August, with 18C32C. Record high temperatures of up to 42°C. The coolest month is January, averaging 1C7C.
Loutrochori produces cherries, apples, some strawberries and peaches.
