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Thrace
The most important stop on the Greek Silk Road is undoubtedly Soufli. A city that, since the 19th century, linked its growth and prosperity to the production of silk. It is the only city in Greece where the tradition continues to this day. You will find Soufli’s silks both in shops in the city and in selected shops throughout Greece.
Central Macedonia
The Greek Silk Road also passes through Thessaloniki, the second largest city in Greece. More specifically, it runs through the suburb of Pylaias, where the old silk mill of Benouzilio is located. It was built in 1880, originally as part of the larger ceramic factory of Allantini.
Central Macedonia
In Goumenissa, a town in the prefecture of Kilkis, Central Macedonia on the foothills of Mount Paiko, was written one of the most brilliant pages in the history of the Greek Silk Road. At the entrance of the town still stands the original stone built silk mill “Chrysalis”.
Thessaly
As it’s name testifies, Metaxochori was in the past a local centre of sericulture, forming on of the links in the chain of the Greek Silk Road. It is a picturesque mountain settlement at the foot of Mount Kissavos, near Agia Larissa.
Thessaly
Sericulture and silk making in Volos, especially at an industrial level of production, was introduced by Greek refugees from Asia Minor and more specifically by the brothers Georgios and Athanasios Etmektzoglou.
Attica
This is an example of one of the oldest Neoclassical buildings in Athens, it was designed in 1833 by the Danish architect Hans Christian Hansen and was built as a shopping centre in 1834, following the style of European shopping centres of that era, but was later abandoned.
Peloponnese
The area of Messinia in the far south west of the Peloponnese has been renowned for the production of silk since the time of the Byzantine Empire. Mulberries, the tree whose leaves are the sole food of the silkworm, abound in most of the Peloponnese. In fact it is why the area has been called since the 12th century “The Moria”
Crete
Another of the links in the Greek Silk Road chain is in Crete, where there there is a longstanding tradition of sericulture going back to the deep past. Mournies was a small village 4km from the centre of Chania which has now been absorbed into the suburbs.
North Aegean
Chios was one of the most important centres of sericulture and silk production from the 13th to the early 19th century. Sericulture and the cultivation of mastic and citrus fruits were the largest contributors to the prosperity of the island and the granting of privileges under Turkish rule.
