Sykia
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Sykia district Δημοτική Κοινότητα Συκέας (Συκιά) |
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| Basic data | |||
| Country |
 Greece
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| region | Central Macedonia | ||
| local community | Sithonia | ||
| Parish | Toroni | ||
| Geographic coordinates | 40 ° 2 ′ N , 23 ° 56 ′ E | ||
| Height above d. M. |
36 m (average) |
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| surface | 140.589 | ||
| Residents | 2397 (2011) | ||
| LAU-1 code no. | 13050201 | ||
| Local division | 9 | ||
Sykia ( Greek Συκιά ( f. Sg. ), [ Si'kja ], also Sikia ) is a small town about 160–170 km southeast of Thessaloniki on the Chalkidiki peninsula in the Greek region of Central Macedonia . The place itself had 1,903 inhabitants in 2011; together with Toroni and some other villages and hamlets, it forms the municipality of Sykia with 2397 inhabitants.
Sykia is located on the southeastern tip of the Sithonia peninsula (middle finger of the Chalkidiki) on a bay, which also bears the name Sykia. The village of Sykia itself is located approx. 2.5 km from the sea inland on the slopes of the Sithonia ridge, which runs from north to south. The ring road around Sithonia therefore does not pass the village, but runs approx. 1.5 km away in the direction of the sea from Sarti in the north of Sykia to Porto Koufo or Toroni in the west of Sykia or Sithonia.
Mountain village of Sykia
View of Sykia
The Sphinx at Sykia, a natural rock
Sykia's first mention in written sources dates back to the 14th century. In recording the monasteries of Mount Athos is a village Longos mentioned. This name is also an alternative name for the entire Sithonia peninsula. The time and reason for the name change from Longos to Sykia is not known. One assumption is based on the name shadow of Athos , whereby the Greek word for shadow ( Greek σκιά , [skiá]) is said to have given its name. The second assumption describes a derivation of the name Sykia from the ancient settlement Singos ( Greek Σίγγος , ['sigos]). The name is said to have been changed to today's name via the designation Sigiá ( Greek Σιγγιά , [si'gja]). The third assumption describes the adoption of the name Sykia from the observation that a large fig tree ( Greek Συκιά , [si'kja], Sykia) is said to have stood near the village. The second assumption contradicts the assumption that the remains of the ancient settlement Singos in the area of the place Agios Nikolaos .
The area of Sykia was in ancient times one of the possible sites of the ancient settlement of Sarte, a secession of the city of Toroni . However, this assumption is not undisputed in the literature. On a hill near Sykia there are wall remains, which may be of ancient origin. A systematic investigation with subsequent confirmation or revocation of this assumption has not yet taken place.
Until the conquest of the Sithonia peninsula by the Ottoman Empire , the area of today's Sykia as so-called Metochi belonged to the monasteries of Athos, especially the largest and most important monastery Megisti Lavra. It was part of the Byzantine Empire . Even after the conquest by the Ottomans, nothing changed in the “close” relationship between the village of Sykia and the monasteries on Athos. The Serdarides , the members of a police force on Athos, came mainly from Sykia.
In 1821, as part of the Greek War of Independence, the fighting on Chalkidiki began with the later advance to Thessaloniki in Sykia. The armed rebel group was initially able to achieve some success against the Ottoman occupation forces and withdrew Sithonia and western Halkidiki, including Kassandra, from Ottoman control. In the village of Vasilika, southeast of Thessaloniki in the Anthemous Valley, the rebels were decisively beaten by Ottoman occupation troops and then had to retreat to Kassandra . The remaining resistance there was broken by the Ottoman troops by the end of 1821. At the end of November 1821 - probably the last village on the Chalkidiki - Sykia also surrendered to the Ottoman troops; This brought the Chalkidiki back completely under Ottoman control. Sykia was subsequently destroyed by the Ottoman forces. Before the destruction, residents of Sykia were able to flee across the sea to Skopelos and Atalandi in Viotia.
Despite these experiences, the uprising under Tsamis Karatasios against the Ottoman occupation forces began again in Sykia in 1854. Again, the uprising did not lead to lasting success and was crushed during the year. In 1912 the inhabitants of Sykia took part in the fighting against the Ottoman occupation forces as part of the first Balkan War . In the same year the Ottoman rule ended and Sykia became part of the Kingdom of Greece with the rest of Halkidiki.
In April 1941, German troops occupied Marita Sykia as part of the company and remained there until autumn 1944, when the Wehrmacht withdrew to Greece. The extent to which Sykia was the scene of the Greek civil war between 1946 and 1949 is not known.
The connection to the asphalt road network of Chalkidiki in the 1960s gave a decisive boost to development.
The inhabitants of Sykia are mainly engaged in agriculture and fishing. For this purpose, the plain from the village on the mountain slope to the sea is cultivated. Goat farming also plays a major role. In contrast to the northern neighborhood of Sarti, Sykia is still of minor importance in terms of tourism.
Sykia was merged in 1997 as part of the Greek municipal administrative reform with the neighboring villages of Toroni and Sarti to form the municipality (Dimos) Toroni . Although Sykia is by far the largest of the three localities, the name of the small but very important locality Toroni was obviously chosen for the municipality with reference to its historical significance. However, the seat of the municipality of Toroni was in Sykia. In 2010 Sykia went up together with the Toroni community in the Sithonia community.
literature
- Klaus Bötig : Chalkidiki. Travel with insider tips. (With travel atlas) (= Marco Polo ). 7th, updated edition. MairDuMont, Ostfildern 2006, ISBN 3-8297-0116-0 .
- Regina Mousteraki: Chalkidiki. Detailed tourist guide. Adam, Athens n.d. , ISBN 960-500-208-6 .
- Ioakim A. Papangelos: Chalkidiki. 2nd Edition. Malliaris Paidia, Thessaloniki 1985 (3rd edition. Moorland, Ashbourne 1987, ISBN 0-86190-200-9 ).
- Michael Zahrnt : Olynthos and the Chalkidians. Studies on the formation of states on the Chalcidian Peninsula in the 5th and 4th centuries BC BC (= Vestigia . Vol. 14). Beck, Munich 1971, ISBN 3-406-03097-1 (also: Kiel, Universität, Dissertation, 1969).
Individual evidence
- ↑ Results of the 2011 census at the National Statistical Service of Greece (ΕΛ.ΣΤΑΤ) ( Memento from June 27, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) (Excel document; 2.6 MB)
- ↑ a b c d e Ioakim A. Papangelos: Chalkidiki. 2nd Edition. Malliaris Paidia, Thessaloniki 1985 (3rd edition. Moorland, Ashbourne 1987, ISBN 0-86190-200-9 ).
- ↑ a b Michael Zahrnt: Olynth and the Chalkidians. 1971.