Koufalia

Koufalia (Greek: Κουφάλια) is a town and a municipal unit of the Chalkidona municipality in Thessaloniki regional unit, Macedonia, Greece.^[2] Koufalia is the seat of the municipality of Chalkidona.^[2] Before the 2011 local government reform it was a municipality.^[3]

Koufalia Κουφάλια
Settlement
Koufalia Location within the regional unit
Coordinates: 40°46.7′N 22°34.6′E
Country	Greece
Geographic region	Macedonia
Administrative region	Central Macedonia
Regional unit	Thessaloniki
Municipality	Chalkidona
Area
• Municipal unit	106.128 km2 (40.976 sq mi)
• Community	67.591 km2 (26.097 sq mi)
Elevation	42 m (138 ft)
Population  (2021)[1]
• Municipal unit	9,462
• Municipal unit density	89/km2 (230/sq mi)
• Community	7,522
• Community density	110/km2 (290/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+2 (EET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+3 (EEST)
Postal code	571 00
Area code(s)	+30-2391
Vehicle registration	NA to NX

Administrative division

The municipal unit of Koufalia consists of two communities:^[1]

• Koufalia (population 7,522)
• Prochoma (population 1,940)

The aforementioned population figures are as of 2021.^[1]

Geography

Koufalia is located 35 kilometres North-West of the City of Thessaloniki, and virtually by the Axios river. The community of Koufalia covers an area of 67.591 km² while the municipal unit covers an area of 106,128 km².^[3]

History

Koufalia is built north of the ancient city of Ichnae (IXNAI). Most of its population originates from the town of Kavakli in Bulgaria.^[4] They moved to the area after the 1919 signing of the Treaty of Neuilly between Greece and Bulgaria that forced a population exchange between the two countries. In return the mostly Bulgarian^[5] population of the village immigrated to Bulgaria, settling mainly on the Black Sea coast, in the area of Anchialos. The population called the city Koufalovo (Bulgarian: Куфалово). There are also Ntopioi and Greek refugees from Asia Minor and Thrace.^[4]

Culture

It has a number of cultural organisations, the main one being “Megas Alexandros” (Alexander the Great); it was founded in 1980. It has its own lending library as well as a blood bank for humanitarian purposes. Every year it organises the “River Party” on the banks of the Axios river, from 24–26 July, and religious festivals (Greek: πανηγύρια).