Loutrochori, Pella
Loutrochori(on) () meaning "bath town"; formerly "Paina", Πάινα and "Bania", Μπάνια meaning "baths") is a village in the Pella regional unit, of Macedonia in Greece. According to the 2011 census, it has a population of 458, its area is 7.506 km, and its population density is 62.08 per km. The village is on a hill and thus it has a view of the surrounding countryside. Loutrochori is situated north of the Egnatia Highway (or A2, the Greek part of the E90) and south of the EO2 (or E 86). The nearest railroad (train) stations, on the OSE's Thessaloniki –Bitola railway, are east (Petrea), southeast (Episkopi) and northeast (Skydra). The Loutrochori area was famous from ancient times for its spa. The spa ("iamatica loutra", ιαματικά λουτρά) of Loutrochori (spa-drinking therapy) is situated just away near the local mountain of Canber (). History. Ancient era. The Loutrochori area has been a spa from the 4th century BC under the Macedonian Kingdom. Modern era. Modern Loutrochori is a relatively new village; it was founded in the 1920s by the first Greek refugees from Pontus, under the name "Μπάνια" ("Bania"). After the Greek Genocide and the Greco-Turkish War (1919-1922), a  large number of Pontic Greek refugees arrived at the village as a result of the population exchange under the Treaty of Lausanne. In 1926, the village's name was changed to "Λουτροχώρι" (Loutrochori). Demographics. The village's population grew rapidly after 1923. After the Second World War and the Greek Civil War, the population steadily declined as residents moved to larger towns and cities or emigrated. The inhabitants are (100%) ethnic Greeks and Greek Orthodox Christians. Geography. Loutrochori is the southwestern part of the municipality of Skydra. It is southeast of the regional unit capital of Edessa in Central part  of Macedonia in Greece. Loutrochori is bounded by the Imathia to the southwest and it is northwest of the Imathian capital Veria. It sits at an elevation of around above mean sea level and the population is approximately from 500 (in winter) to 800 (in summer) inhabitants. Loutrochori covers an area of some , between the mountains Vermio () to the southwest, Voras () to the northwest and Paiko () to the northeast. Loutrochori is located at a distance of northwest of the present day Greek capital - Athens by road, north of the royal capital of ancient Macedon - Vergina, west of the first capital  of the Greek Macedonian Kingdom and birthplace of Alexander the Great - Pella and northwest of Thessaloniki, the present-day capital of Greek Macedonia. Climate. The average temperature is 14.8 degrees Celsius and the average rainfall about 470 millimetres per year. Loutrochori has a Mediterranean climate with mild, rainy winters and hot, dry summers. The warmest month is August, with . Record high temperatures of up to . The coolest month is January, averaging . Economy. Loutrochori produces cherries, apples, some strawberries and peaches.