Platamon, or Platamonas (, ''Platamónas''), is a town and sea-side resort in south Pieria,

Central Macedonia Central Macedonia ( el, Κεντρική Μακεδονία, Kentrikí Makedonía, ) is one of the thirteen administrative regions of Greece, consisting of the central part of the geographical and historical region of Macedonia. With a populat ...

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders ...

. Platamon has a population of about 2,000 permanent inhabitants. It is part of the Municipal unit of

East Olympos East Olympos, or Anatolikos Olympos ( el, Ανατολικός Όλυμπος, '','' ), is a former municipality in Pieria regional unit, Greece. In Greece's 2011 local government reform East Olympos became a municipal unit of the municipality D ...

of the

Dio-Olympos Dion-Olympos ( el, Δίον-Όλυμπος, ''Díon-Ólympos'') is a municipality in the Pieria regional unit, Central Macedonia, Greece. The seat of the municipality is the town Litochoro. The municipality has an area of 495.314 km2. Municipal ...

municipality.

History

The ancient settlement

Herakleion Heraklion or Iraklion ( ; el, Ηράκλειο, , ) is the largest city and the administrative capital of the island of Crete and capital of Heraklion regional unit. It is the fourth largest city in Greece with a population of 211,370 (Urban Ar ...

was situated near the present town Platamon. In 169 BC. the Romans took their military camp on the plain between Herakleion and ancient

Leivithra Leibethra or Libethra, in the modern pronunciation Leivithra ( gr, Λείβηθρα or Λίβηθρα) was an ancient Macedonian city at the foot of Mount Olympus, near the present settlement of Skotina. Archaeologists have discovered tombs there ...

to start their campaign against Macedonia. Its most famous landmark is the 13th century Byzantine

Castle of Platamon The Platamon Castle ( el, Κάστρο του Πλαταμώνα), an important part of the history of Pieria, is a Crusader castle (built between 1204 and 1222) in northern Greece (Macedonia) and is located southeast of Mount Olympus, in a stra ...

, built strategically along the main road from

Thessaly Thessaly ( el, Θεσσαλία, translit=Thessalía, ; ancient Thessalian: , ) is a traditional geographic and modern administrative region of Greece, comprising most of the ancient region of the same name. Before the Greek Dark Ages, The ...

to Macedonia through the

Vale of Tempe The Vale of Tempe ( el, Κοιλάδα των Τεμπών) is a gorge in the Tempi municipality of northern Thessaly, Greece, located between Olympus to the north and Ossa to the south, and between the regions of Thessaly and Macedonia. The ...

Geography

Platamon is situated on the

Aegean Sea The Aegean Sea ; tr, Ege Denizi (Greek: Αιγαίο Πέλαγος: "Egéo Pélagos", Turkish: "Ege Denizi" or "Adalar Denizi") is an elongated embayment of the Mediterranean Sea between Europe and Asia. It is located between the Balkans ...

coast, 25 km southeast of

Mount Olympus Mount Olympus (; el, Όλυμπος, Ólympos, also , ) is the highest mountain in Greece. It is part of the Olympus massif near the Thermaic Gulf of the Aegean Sea, located in the Olympus Range on the border between Thessaly and Macedonia, be ...

. Adjacent beach towns are

Neoi Poroi Neoi Poroi ( ) is a coastal village of the Dio-Olympos municipality. Before the 2011 local government reform it was part of the municipality of East Olympos. The settlement of Neoi Poroi had a population of 733 inhabitants as of 2011. Neoi Poroi i ...

to the southeast and

Neos Panteleimonas Neos Panteleimonas ( el, Νέος Παντελεήμονας) is a settlement of the former municipality of East Olympos, which is part of the municipality of Dio-Olympos, in the Pieria regional unit, Central Macedonia, Greece. Neos Panteleimona ...

to the northwest. It is 33 km south of

Katerini Katerini ( el, Κατερίνη, ''Kateríni'', ) 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, ...

and 43 km northeast of Larissa. The town is well known for its vast natural springs and its therapeutic spas.

Tourism

Platamon is regarded as one of the most significant tourist destinations in Northern Greece. The town is home to numerous restaurants, cafeterias, hotels and camping resorts. Platamon is connected to the cities of

and Larissa through the bus and fast railway transportation system. Platamon is on the European route E 75 which is part of the International E-road network, which is a series of main roads in Europe. The E 75 starts at the town of Vardø on the Barents Sea and it runs south through Finland, Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Serbia, North Macedonia, and Greece. Platamon as a resort and fishing village have a great Marina - Port in the center of the Village. Αfter the completion of the infrastructural upgrades in spring of 2014, "Platamon Savvi Marine" provide more than 90 slips for vessels up to 65 ft as well as cruisers and megayachts. Being located in the heart of the resort, customers will have at their disposal all needed facilities such as public transport, hotels, rental agencies, medical offices and pharmacies, dry cleaners, super markets and many others. Marina provides customers the opportunity to take part in activities such as daily tours, water sports, fishing and diving, while being the starting place for trips in the great mountainous nature. Platamon, a graphic village easily accessible via highway and train station has a number of hotels, beach bars, taverns, restaurants, and cafes. Located in the foothills of mountain Olympus, and framed by the castle of Platamon it is a starting point for shorter excursions to Chalkidiki, Sporades islands (Skiathos, Skopelos, Allonisos etc. ) and the north aegean sea but also provides an anchorage for those who wish to visit the coast of Pieria and the nearby mountain destinations. During summertime the population reaches approximately 120,000 because of the number of visitors and tourists. A number of tourists come from eastern countries as well as from local Greek towns such as Larissa and

Sports

Akadimia Platamona (Platamon Academy) is a

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

football club, based in Platamon, Pieria. In 2012, the club were promoted to Football League 2 after finishing the champions of Group 3 of

Delta Ethniki Delta commonly refers to: * Delta (letter) (Δ or δ), a letter of the Greek alphabet * River delta, at a river mouth * D (NATO phonetic alphabet: "Delta") * Delta Air Lines, US * Delta variant of SARS-CoV-2 that causes COVID-19 Delta may also r ...

, the fourth tier of the Greek football league system. Eventually the small club decided that promotion to this level was a step too far and they cooperated with Aiginiakos who took over their place at the third level. Akadimia Platamona still exist having been demoted to the Local Championship of Pieria for the 2012/13 season. The club play their home matches at the Neoi Poroi Stadium in nearby

References

{{Dio-Olympos div Beaches of Greece Populated places in Pieria (regional unit) Mount Olympus Landforms of Central Macedonia