Kassandreia, in north-central Kassandra, has an off-season population of about 3,000, which swells to about 25,000 during the summer. Founded in the 16th century, it's the principal town of the peninsula. Until 1955 it was known as Valta ("valtos" means "swamp"), a not very attractive name despite its descriptive charms. The name was changed to Kassandreia in honor of the nearby ancient town founded by Macedonian ruler Kassandros, or Cassander, in 316 BC, 20 km north, on the isthmus/entrance to the Kassandra peninsula at the present site of Nea Potidea.
Cassander, by the way, was married to Alexander the Great's sister Thessaloniki, after whom he re-named the settlement of Thermi, on the gulf of the same name, and which eventually grew to become Greece's second city. People in Kassandreia work in agriculture, tourism, and small business.
Kassandreia suffered lost during the 1821 "Kassandra Holocaust" at the hands of the Ottoman Turks, and supplied a number of significant actors on the Greek side.
Kassandreia has a beautiful location, among the hills and forests of Kassandra. It is also almost exactly halfway between the beaches of Kallithea on the east, and Siviri on the west, both of which are about 2.6km from Kassandreia, with regular bus service to both places.
Kassandreia has some very nice older buildings, like the stone city hall, and its main churches. Birth of the Virgin, and Saint Athanasiou, dating from the 1850's. They also laid the foundation for a large church dedicated to St. Chystodoulos, a native Kassandran, in 2008.
