Cave of Agios Dionysios

Following Ε4 and leaving behind Palaia Moni, the monastery of Agios Dionysios, we reach Holly Cave, the saint’s hermitage, visited by many pilgrims within a year.

Old Monastery of Agios Dionysios

The monastery of Agia Triada of Olympus was restored by the monk, saint of the orthodox church, Dionysus, in 1543, at the gully of Enipeas, at the place where there was an older Byzantine monastery with the same name. The Thessalian blessed Dionysus the young (from Drakotripa Karditsas), before the establishment of the coenobium on Olympus, he had been a monk at Meteora and an abbot at the monastery of Philotheos at Mt. Athos, having the reputation of a literate ascetic and calligrapher. The Turks destroyed the monastery several times due to fires and raids, since it had been a base of Macedonian thieves. It was devastated in 1943 by the German occupation troops, who considered as a centre of national resistance on Olympus. As for the old monastery, the ruins of the catholic (of the central church), an 18th century building, and of the northern wing together with the altar and the monastery’s tower are still preserved.

Church of Agios Dimitrios | Dion

Agios Dimitrios in Dion is a single-aisled church with an open portico on both sides, most probably built during the 16th century. In its western facade, murals created back in 1740 still survive.

Church of Agios Nikolaos | Tsaritsani

The church of Agios Nikolaos at Tsaritsani was built in the 16th century. Internally, the church is covered in rare murals. Particularly noteworthy is the ‘zodiac’P, the ‘time of year’, and the ‘root of Jesse’, a huge composition that is 5.5m long and includes ninety figures, amongst which twelve full-size wise men from Antiquity.

Church of the Dormition at Kontariotissa

The byzantine church of Theotokos Kontariotissa or Kountouriotissa, overlooking the village named after it, was built in the beginning of the 11th century and is one of the most significant byzantine monuments in Macedonia. Its architecture resembles that of the Agia Sofia church in the city of Thessaloniki; it has a cross-shaped dome surrounded by a gallery and two chapels on the north and on the south side respectively. Inside, there are remainings of murals dating back to the late 15th or early 16th century.
Only a few kilometres away from Panagia Kontariotissa, there is the modern monastery of Agios Efraim one of the most visited monasteries by Greek Christians.