Place - History of Pelion & Volos

The Pelion, the legendary Centaur mountain, which rises imposingly above him Volos, is a unique combination of mountainous and coastal landscape with alternating images of snowy mountain peaks, forests with tall beeches, oaks, olive and fruit trees and on the other hand sandy beaches and rocky beaches. And all this on a peninsula 50 km long, with a width ranging from 10 to 25 km and includes over 40 settlements, built with the traditional Pelion architecture. Some of them are just picturesque, others more beautiful but inaccessible, others just rural while at the same time, there are settlements of unique beauty with strong traces of their rich history and current tourist development. Some of the most famous villages are MakrynitsaThe PortariaThe ZagoraThe Tsagarada The Vizitsa, while lesser known but with special beauties is the St. Lavrentios, The Pinakates, The Lafkos and Trikeri.

Pelion has a network of very beautiful narrow roads, drowned in nature, a large number of cobbled paths that are ideal for walking, equestrian and cycling tourism and perhaps the most beautiful railway line in the country, the small train which today connects Ano Lechonia with Milies.

The beautiful mountain of Pelion could not fail to attract the Ancient Greeks, who chose it as a place where mythical events took place. According to Greek mythology, in Pelion lived the legendary Centaurs, these mythical strange creatures who from the middle and above were humans, while from the middle and below they had the body of a horse, with the most important of them the Centaur Chiron, who was the teacher of many heroes of Greek Mythology Achilles, Theseus, Jason and Asclepius.

At ancient Iolkos the myth of the Argonaut campaign is also mentioned, about 3500 years ago. For the needs of the voyage and for the seizure of the Golden Fleece, the Argo was built, a very fast and light ship, a faithful copy of which is in the port of Volos.

In her years Byzantine Empire Thessaly receives many attacks from barbarians, Pelion is deserted and no city is developed.

Her period Ottoman Empire The founding and development of the present-day villages of Pelion begins, with the Turks settling in the richer lowland and semi-mountainous parts of Pelion, while expelling the locals and completely indifferent to mountainous Pelion. As a result, the persecuted locals, along with many fleeing refugees, take refuge in the mountains to find safety. Many villages developed trade, especially after 1750, when a period of great prosperity began for Pelion, both economically and spiritually, with the typical example of Zagora where the "Zagorian ships" transported products throughout the Mediterranean. The liberal ideas of the European Enlightenment were also transported by ships, preparing the ground for the Greek Revolution.

Unfortunately, Pelion and Thessaly were not liberated like Morias and Roumeli with revolution of 1821, but united with Greece in 1881. The economic situation of the late 19th and early 20th century forced many Pelionians to emigrate abroad, mainly to Egypt, and there after provoking, they returned transferring their wealth back to their homeland building impressive mansions.

In 1980 the Pelion villages are proclaimed protected settlements, with special building conditions, resulting in Pelion to be nowadays one of the most beautiful places in Greece, both for its nature and for its architecture.