Description of the attraction
Nea Achialos is a picturesque seaside town on the shores of the Gulf of Pagassia, about 18 km southwest of Volos (Thessaly). It was founded in 1906 by refugees from the town of Achialos (the modern Bulgarian resort of Pomorie) after the riots provoked by the Greek-Bulgarian struggle in Macedonia. Magnificent natural landscapes, sun, sea and many attractions over the past decades have turned Nea Achialos into a popular resort with a well-developed tourist infrastructure.
During archaeological excavations, it was revealed that the lands on which Nea Achialos is located today were inhabited in the Neolithic era, and the city itself was built on the ruins of the ancient city of Pirasos. Written sources, where there is information about the ancient city, have survived to this day. Pyrassos is mentioned in the Homeric Iliad and in the writings of the ancient Greek historian and geographer Strabo. It is known that the famous temple of Demeter and Persephone was located in Pirasos. Before the Macedonians built Demetriada, which became the seat of the Macedonian kings, Pirasos was the main port of the Pagassian Gulf. During archaeological excavations, many early Christian monuments have been discovered that testify to the prosperity of the city in the 4th-6th centuries AD.
The main attraction of Nea Achialos is the ruins of the ancient city, which are an important historical and archaeological monument. Here archaeologists have discovered a whole complex of public buildings, a number of early Christian temples, the remains of an ancient theater, a Hellenistic colonnade and much more. The small but very entertaining Ethnographic Museum is also of interest.
Lovers of archeology will be interested in visiting the Neolithic settlements of Sesklo and Dimini, as well as the Archaeological Museum of Volos. The legendary mountain of centaurs - Pelion with fantastic nature and a lot of colorful mountain villages located on its slopes deserves special attention.
