Loutrochori, Pella

Loutrochori(on) (Λουτροχώρι(οv) meaning "bath town"; formerly Paina, Πάινα and Bania, Μπάνια meaning "baths") is a village in the Pella regional unit, of Macedonia in Greece. Previously part of the community of Petraia, it became a separate community in 2020. According to the 2021 census, it has a population of 399. The village is on a hill and thus it has a view of the surrounding countryside.

Loutrochori is situated 30 km north of the Egnatia Highway (or A2, the Greek part of the E90) and 10 km south of the EO2 (or E 86). The nearest railroad (train) stations, on the OSE's Thessaloniki–Bitola railway, are 3 km east (Petraia), 8 km southeast (Episkopi) and 9 km 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 0.5 km away near the local mountain of Canber (358 m).

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 21 km 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 28 km northwest of the Imathian capital Veria. It sits at an elevation of around 90 m above mean sea level and the population is approximately from 500 (in winter) to 800 (in summer) inhabitants.

Loutrochori covers an area of some 7.506 km2, between the mountains Vermio (2052 m) to the southwest, Voras (2524 m) to the northwest and Paiko (1650 m) to the northeast.

Loutrochori is located at a distance of 533 km northwest of the present day Greek capital - Athens by road, 44 km north of the royal capital of ancient Macedon - Vergina, 40 km west of the first capital of the Greek Macedonian Kingdom and birthplace of Alexander the Great - Pella and 82 km 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 18 to 32 C. Record high temperatures of up to 42 °C. The coolest month is January, averaging 1 to 7 C.

Economy
Loutrochori produces cherries, apples, some strawberries and peaches.