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Village Koupa

The natural beauty of the landscape consists of rare, in density and growth, oak and beech forests, the number of natural caves, the sour healing water, the river and the numerous springs that feed it. These are just a few of the beauties of the small picturesque Settlement of Koupa, built at an altitude of 600m in the center of the mountainous Paiko.

Its approximately 100 residents are engaged with farming and traditional folk structures. 

The name of this settlement and its foundation come from, according to historical evidence, the Greek Koupis, who fled with his family to the tops of Paiko to avoid his Turks persecutors. The village that Koupis founded in the place "Vekliakoup" (Vlach rendering of the term ‘Old Koupa’), which is northwest of the present village, was depopulated by the plague in 1700. For this reason, its inhabitants left the village and following a swarm of bees that they deliberately set free, they moved to its present location building their church at the point that the bees chose. The church is a basilica, which has been designated by the Ministry of Culture as a monument of great cultural value, still remains a feature of the post-Byzantine character and tradition of the village.

Apart from the natural beauty of the region and the picturesque traditional village, there are also interesting monuments of the presence of the 30th Constitution of ELAS (trenches, cookers), monuments of the presence of the coalition forces during the First World War, of which particularly stand out the 7 kilometers road that leads to Megala Livadia and the 10 km railway line that starts from the river Axios and grows along the local tributary Loumitsa and torrent Makryrema. Also the pits - natural refrigerators in selected parts of the mountain, which were used to preserve food during the summer months, and the cistern with the sour water, which the French soldiers bottled and sent to their country to be used for healing purposes.

Additional Info

  • Coordinates: 41.070048, 22.358665
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