Agios Nikolaos is a village

Village

A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet with the population ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand , Though often located in rural areas, the term urban village is also applied to certain urban neighbourhoods, such as the West Village in Manhattan, New...

 located 120 kilometers south-east from Thessaloniki

Thessaloniki

Thessaloniki , historically also known as Thessalonica, Salonika or Salonica, is the second-largest city in Greece and the capital of the region of Central Macedonia as well as the capital of the Decentralized Administration of Macedonia and Thrace...

 on the Chalkidiki peninsula

Peninsula

A peninsula is a piece of land that is bordered by water on three sides but connected to mainland. In many Germanic and Celtic languages and also in Baltic, Slavic and Hungarian, peninsulas are called "half-islands"....

 in Macedonia

Macedonia (Greece)

Macedonia is a geographical and historical region of Greece in Southern Europe. Macedonia is the largest and second most populous Greek region...

, Greece

Greece

Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....

.

Location

Agios Nikolaos sits on the north-eastern top of Sithonia

Sithonia

Sithonia is a peninsula located south of the central part of Chalkidiki which is also in the south-central part of the Chalkidiki peninsula. The Kassandra Peninsula lies to the west and the Mount Athos peninsula at the east. Sithonia is also a municipality, covering the Sithonia peninsula...

 peninsula, smallest east-west diameter of Sithonia

Sithonia

Sithonia is a peninsula located south of the central part of Chalkidiki which is also in the south-central part of the Chalkidiki peninsula. The Kassandra Peninsula lies to the west and the Mount Athos peninsula at the east. Sithonia is also a municipality, covering the Sithonia peninsula...

.

Geography

The village Agios Nikolaos itself is closest to the sea

Sea

A sea generally refers to a large body of salt water, but the term is used in other contexts as well. Most commonly, it means a large expanse of saline water connected with an ocean, and is commonly used as a synonym for ocean...

 of (Singitikos Gulf, Pyrgos

Chalastra

Chalastra is a town and was a former municipality in the Thessaloniki regional unit, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Delta, of which it is a municipal unit. The town is located 20 km west from the city of Thessaloniki, on the north side of Greek...

 Beach) approximately 1,5 km. away. However, its territory is quite extensive. To the north-east it borders the village of Pyrgadikia at Salonikiou Beach (8 km from Agios Nikolaos). To the north it borders the village of Metangitsi. In the west and south-west it is neighboring the village of Nikiti. To the south it runs up to Armenistis Beach, which is a part of the village of Sarti (approx. 18–20 km from Agios Nikolaos).

Landscapes

Agios Nikolaos' landscapes show a substantial variability.

In the plain

Plain

In geography, a plain is land with relatively low relief, that is flat or gently rolling. Prairies and steppes are types of plains, and the archetype for a plain is often thought of as a grassland, but plains in their natural state may also be covered in shrublands, woodland and forest, or...

s east and south-east of the village agriculture

Agriculture

Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...

 predominates with olive

Olive

The olive , Olea europaea), is a species of a small tree in the family Oleaceae, native to the coastal areas of the eastern Mediterranean Basin as well as northern Iran at the south end of the Caspian Sea.Its fruit, also called the olive, is of major agricultural importance in the...

 trees as the main cultivated

Horticulture

Horticulture is the industry and science of plant cultivation including the process of preparing soil for the planting of seeds, tubers, or cuttings. Horticulturists work and conduct research in the disciplines of plant propagation and cultivation, crop production, plant breeding and genetic...

 plant. Forests are lacking. Toward the south, the Itamos

Itamos

Itamos is a former municipality in the Karditsa peripheral unit, Thessaly, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Karditsa, of which it is a municipal unit. Population 4,726 . The seat of the municipality was in Kallithiro....

 mountain range of Sithonia

Sithonia

Sithonia is a peninsula located south of the central part of Chalkidiki which is also in the south-central part of the Chalkidiki peninsula. The Kassandra Peninsula lies to the west and the Mount Athos peninsula at the east. Sithonia is also a municipality, covering the Sithonia peninsula...

 gain height, and is completely covered with forest. Towards its northeastern extension (Salonikiou Beach) significant parts of the village territory is covered with forests. In all parts of the village territory plains or smooth hill segments are devoted to agriculture.

On the beaches there are hotels and pensions as well as individual homes that have been built since the 1980s.

The highest point within Agios Nikolaos territory is mount Karvounas (height approx. 550 m) in the south-west (Vourvourvou).

Settlements

A couple of settlements do belong to Agios Nikolaos, as there are:

• Vourvourou – located 10 km south-east
• Salonikiou Beach – located 8 km north-east
• Ormos Panagias – located 4 km east/south-east, serving as the villages port

Administration

Agios Nikolaos was an independent municipality

Municipality

A municipality is essentially an urban administrative division having corporate status and usually powers of self-government. It can also be used to mean the governing body of a municipality. A municipality is a general-purpose administrative subdivision, as opposed to a special-purpose district...

. In 2001 widespread rearrangement of Greek local

Local government

Local government refers collectively to administrative authorities over areas that are smaller than a state.The term is used to contrast with offices at nation-state level, which are referred to as the central government, national government, or federal government...

 administrative divisions was undertaken. This resulted in Agios Nikolaos being combined with the municipality of Sithonia

Sithonia

Sithonia is a peninsula located south of the central part of Chalkidiki which is also in the south-central part of the Chalkidiki peninsula. The Kassandra Peninsula lies to the west and the Mount Athos peninsula at the east. Sithonia is also a municipality, covering the Sithonia peninsula...

 and with the villages of Nikiti, Neos Marmaras

Neos Marmaras

Neos Marmaras is a village on the Sithonia peninsula, in the prefecture Halkidiki, Greece. In 2001, Neos Marmaras had 2,854 residents, the summer-time population has been estimated at 20,000. Situated on three shoreline hills, below the two mountains, Itamos and Tragoudeli...

, and Metangitsi.

Population

Agios Nikolaos has about 1,883 inhabitants

Population

A population is all the organisms that both belong to the same group or species and live in the same geographical area. The area that is used to define a sexual population is such that inter-breeding is possible between any pair within the area and more probable than cross-breeding with individuals...

 (based on the core village of Agios Nikolaos). Including the settlements of Vourvourou, Salonikiou Beach, and Ormos Panagias, the population is about 2,048 (all figures according to the Greek Department of Statistics http://www.statistics.gr. Almost all inhabitants are indigenous Greeks

Greeks

The Greeks, also known as the Hellenes , are a nation and ethnic group native to Greece, Cyprus and neighboring regions. They also form a significant diaspora, with Greek communities established around the world....

. After the rise of tourism, some non-Greeks do settle permanently in Agios Nikolaos, for example, Germans

Germans

The Germans are a Germanic ethnic group native to Central Europe. The English term Germans has referred to the German-speaking population of the Holy Roman Empire since the Late Middle Ages....

, Dutch

Netherlands

The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...

, and Austrians

Austrians

Austrians are a nation and ethnic group, consisting of the population of the Republic of Austria and its historical predecessor states who share a common Austrian culture and Austrian descent....

.

During the holiday period, the population may rise to 10,000.

Economy

Traditionally, inhabitants of Agios Nikolaos had two economic mainstays: agriculture and fishery. Agriculture was mostly devoted to olive trees (and olive oil production), wheat, and winery. Fishery was limited to the waters of Singitikos Gulf and adjacent Aegean Sea

Aegean Sea

The Aegean Sea[p] is an elongated embayment of the Mediterranean Sea located between the southern Balkan and Anatolian peninsulas, i.e., between the mainlands of Greece and Turkey. In the north, it is connected to the Marmara Sea and Black Sea by the Dardanelles and Bosporus...

.

Since the 1980s, tourism

Tourism

Tourism is travel for recreational, leisure or business purposes. The World Tourism Organization defines tourists as people "traveling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes".Tourism has become a...

 replaced fishery

Fishery

Generally, a fishery is an entity engaged in raising or harvesting fish which is determined by some authority to be a fishery. According to the FAO, a fishery is typically defined in terms of the "people involved, species or type of fish, area of water or seabed, method of fishing, class of boats,...

 and agriculture

Agriculture

Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...

 as economic mainstay. Inhabitants have built own hotels, homes, and pensions or sold-off their agricultural land for real estate purposes. Concomitantly, living standards have risen significantly.

History

The village's history starts back in the 16th century. Other sources (villagers) point back to the 14th century. Little is known through written records. As traditional story-telling recounts, Agios Nikolaos was moved from the sea into the land because of repeated attacks by pirates. But this information lacks historic proof. One indicator of the former village position however can be found at Pyrgos

Chalastra

Chalastra is a town and was a former municipality in the Thessaloniki regional unit, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Delta, of which it is a municipal unit. The town is located 20 km west from the city of Thessaloniki, on the north side of Greek...

 Beach, where remains of a watchtower

Watchtower

A watchtower is a type of fortification used in many parts of the world. It differs from a regular tower in that its primary use is military, and from a turret in that it is usually a freestanding structure. Its main purpose is to provide a high, safe place from which a sentinel or guard may...

 presumably of Byzantine

Byzantine

Byzantine usually refers to the Roman Empire during the Middle Ages.Byzantine may also refer to:* A citizen of the Byzantine Empire, or native Greek during the Middle Ages...

 origin can be found.

The ancient city of Singos (giving name to Singitikos Gulf) was located within Agios Nikolaos' territory. It was probably near the Vourvourou bay on Livari peninsula, where an ancient wall of large stones is still visible (Mega Teichos). Individual reports even mention remains of an ancient port

Port

A port is a location on a coast or shore containing one or more harbors where ships can dock and transfer people or cargo to or from land....

 at the very same location. No excavation was performed to confirm position and location of ancient Singos and significant remains of buildings are not evident.

Public facilities

Agios Nikolaos has following public facilities:

• police station
• health center (equal to a very small hospital)
• pharmacies
• post office
• ATM
• radio station

Agios Nikolaos does not have a bank. The nearest bank is located in Nikiti (7 km away).

Transportation

Agios Nikolaos lies adjacent to the road leading from Nikiti to Sarti (Sithonia

Sithonia

Sithonia is a peninsula located south of the central part of Chalkidiki which is also in the south-central part of the Chalkidiki peninsula. The Kassandra Peninsula lies to the west and the Mount Athos peninsula at the east. Sithonia is also a municipality, covering the Sithonia peninsula...

 west ring) and from Nikiti to Pyrgadikia (semicircular road around Singitikos bay leading east). All roads are covered with concrete

Concrete

Concrete is a composite construction material, composed of cement and other cementitious materials such as fly ash and slag cement, aggregate , water and chemical admixtures.The word concrete comes from the Latin word...

 or asphalt

Asphalt

Asphalt or , also known as bitumen, is a sticky, black and highly viscous liquid or semi-solid that is present in most crude petroleums and in some natural deposits, it is a substance classed as a pitch...

.

There is no link to a railroad. (Chalkidiki has no railroad at all).

Ormos Panagias serves as port

Port

A port is a location on a coast or shore containing one or more harbors where ships can dock and transfer people or cargo to or from land....

 of Agios Nikolaos. Daily cruise

Cruising (maritime)

Cruising by boat is a lifestyle that involves living for extended time on a boat while traveling from place to place for pleasure. Cruising generally refers to trips of a few days or more, and can extend to round-the-world voyages.- History :...

s to Mount Athos

Mount Athos

Mount Athos is a mountain and peninsula in Macedonia, Greece. A World Heritage Site, it is home to 20 Eastern Orthodox monasteries and forms a self-governed monastic state within the sovereignty of the Hellenic Republic. Spiritually, Mount Athos comes under the direct jurisdiction of the...

' west coast take off from that port. It serves also as home port of the village's fishery

Fishery

Generally, a fishery is an entity engaged in raising or harvesting fish which is determined by some authority to be a fishery. According to the FAO, a fishery is typically defined in terms of the "people involved, species or type of fish, area of water or seabed, method of fishing, class of boats,...

 boats.

Air traffic is managed by the international airport

International airport

An international airport is any airport that can accommodate flights from other countries and are typically equipped with customs and immigration facilities to handle these flights to and from other countries...

 of Thessaloniki

Thessaloniki

Thessaloniki , historically also known as Thessalonica, Salonika or Salonica, is the second-largest city in Greece and the capital of the region of Central Macedonia as well as the capital of the Decentralized Administration of Macedonia and Thrace...

.
Bus

Bus

A bus is a road vehicle designed to carry passengers. Buses can have a capacity as high as 300 passengers. The most common type of bus is the single-decker bus, with larger loads carried by double-decker buses and articulated buses, and smaller loads carried by midibuses and minibuses; coaches are...

 traffic is the mainstay of public transport

Public transport

Public transport is a shared passenger transportation service which is available for use by the general public, as distinct from modes such as taxicab, car pooling or hired buses which are not shared by strangers without private arrangement.Public transport modes include buses, trolleybuses, trams...

 in Agios Nikolaos, as is in Chalkidiki and in Greece

Greece

Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....

 as a whole. Daily connections to Thessaloniki, Sarti, Polygyros

Polygyros

Polygyros is a town and municipality in Central Macedonia, Greece. It is the capital of Chalkidiki.-Geography:Polygyros town is built in the shape of an amphitheatre on a plateau on the south west side of the mountain Cholomontas. It is south of Greek National Road 16...

, and Nea Moudania

Nea Moudania

Nea Moudania is the seat of the municipality of Nea Propontida, Chalkidiki, Greece and its main town. The town is located 60 km south of Thessaloniki and is considered to be the financial and commercial center of the peripheral unit of Chalkidiki...

 exist. In the summer, at least 3 buses a day do provide transportation, whereas in the winter bus frequency is lower.

Architecture

Agios Nikolaos is primarily a traditionally built village with characteristic Macedonian architecture. However, a lot of traditional homes and houses have been replaced with modern ones. This is partially due to a higher standard of living

Standard of living

Standard of living is generally measured by standards such as real income per person and poverty rate. Other measures such as access and quality of health care, income growth inequality and educational standards are also used. Examples are access to certain goods , or measures of health such as...

 as well as to stricter building standard because of earthquake

Earthquake

An earthquake is the result of a sudden release of energy in the Earth's crust that creates seismic waves. The seismicity, seismism or seismic activity of an area refers to the frequency, type and size of earthquakes experienced over a period of time...

 concerns.

Sightseeing

Ancient remains worth sightseeing in a strict sense are not existent. However, one may want to take a look at:

• Byzantine
  Byzantine
  Byzantine usually refers to the Roman Empire during the Middle Ages.Byzantine may also refer to:* A citizen of the Byzantine Empire, or native Greek during the Middle Ages...
  
   watch tower at Pyrgos Beach (only ruins visible)
• Ancient Mega Teichos at Vourvourou (Livari)

Agios Nikolaos is full of noteworthy beaches, as there are:

• Salonikiou Beach
• Pyrgos Beach
• Livrochio Beach
• Latoura Beach
• Lagonisi Beach
• Livari Beach
• Vourvourou Beach
• Karidi Beach
• Zografou Beach
• Galana Nera, a beach located between Diaporos and Agios Isidoros.

Beside the beaches, the bay of Vourvourou has approx. 9 islands giving bay of Vourvourou a lagoon appearance.

• Diaporos Island
  Diaporos Island
  Diaporos Island is an island of about one and a half square miles in the Singitic Gulf.In 1950 it had no inhabitants....
  
  , largest island, partially inhabited
• Agios Isidoros, the most eastern island

All islands and islands' beaches can only be reached by boat.