At the centre of the town of Kavala, with a history that goes back centuries, the district of Panagia – known also as the “Old Town” – reached as far as today’s district of Agios Nikolaos and was, until 1864, the only inhabited part.
Later came the district of Agios Ioannis, with its villas and mansions, Agia Varvara, Agios Athanasios, the Sougelo or “The Water Road” (today’s Holy Cross), Agios Georgios, Agios Pavlos…
From as early as the 1920s, the town had started to transform into a modern urban centre, when its population expanded rapidly due to the large number of refugees who settled here after the Asia Minor Disaster. New districts were created to the east and west of the town: Hilia (the name it was given because of the thousand [hilia] refugee families that settled there) and Vyronas, Dekaochto (i.e. 18, because there were 18 refugee houses here), Pentakosia, Potamoudia, Kalamitsa, Kipoupoli, Profitis Ilias, Dexameni, Agia Paraskevi…
The town grew and other districts came to cover the increased housing needs of modern Kavala: Agios Tryphonas (or Worker Housing) and Perigiali to the east, Agios Loukas and Neapoli (DEPOS) in the west.
Each district of the town has its own unique history, starting with its name and continuing to the hundreds of narratives told by its residents.
Discover them by following in their footpaths.
