Koufalia is a former municipality and a city in the Thessaloniki regional unit, Greece

Greece

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

. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Chalkidona

Chalkidona

-Municipality:The municipality Chalkidona was formed at the 2011 local government reform by the merger of the following 3 former municipalities, that became municipal units:*Agios Athanasios*Chalkidona*Koufalia...

, of which it is the seat and a municipal unit. It is located 40 kilometres North-West of the City 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...

, and virtually by the Axios

Vardar

The Vardar or Axios is the longest and major river in the Republic of Macedonia and also a major river of Greece. It is long, and drains an area of around . The maximum depth of river is ....

 river. It consists of two communities: Koufalia and Prochoma. The population is 10,757 inhabitants, according to the 2001 census.

Koufalia is built over the ancient city of Ichnae

Ichnae

Ichnae or Ichnai an ancient town of Bottiaea, Macedonia on the Thermaic Gulf, above the mouth of Loudias river , near modern Koufalia ; built by the Macedonians according to Hazlitt, although Ichnaeans appear independently in epigraphy...

 (IXNAI). Most of its population originates from the town of Kavakli

Topolovgrad

Topolovgrad is a town in south-central Bulgaria, part of Haskovo Province, situated at the northern foot of the Sakar Mountain. It is the administrative centre of the homonymous Topolovgrad Municipality...

 in Bulgaria

Bulgaria

Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...

. They moved to the area after the 1919 signing of the Treaty of Neuilly between Greece and Bulgaria that forced a population exchange between the two countries. In return the mostly Bulgarian population of the village immigrated to Bulgaria, settling mainly on the Black Sea coast, in the area of Anchialo

Pomorie

Pomorie is a town and seaside resort in southeastern Bulgaria, located on a narrow rocky peninsula in Burgas Bay on the southern Bulgarian Black Sea Coast. It is situated in Burgas Province, 20 km away from the city of Burgas and 18 km from the Sunny Beach resort. The ultrasaline lagoon...

. The population called the city Koufalovo .

The region enjoys many sport and nature activities. It is also active in EU initiatives targeting the northern Greek infrastructure programs, by promoting the development of the Central Macedonia

Central Macedonia

Central Macedonia is one of the thirteen regions of Greece, consisting of the central part of the region of Macedonia. With a population of over 1.8 million, it is the second most populous in Greece after Attica.- Administration :...

 region and Thessaloniki.

Culture

It has a number of cultural organisations, the main one being “Megas Alexandros” (Alexander the Great); it was founded in 1980. It has its own lending library as well as a blood bank for humanitarian purposes. Every year it organises the “River Party” on the banks of the Axios river, from 24–26 July, and religious festivals .