The city’s history starts in the 7th century B.C. under the name Neapolis. It used to be the seaport of the gold mines on Mount Pangeon and the Thassian’ s trade with the mainland and probably the starting point of Alexander the Great when he set out on his expedition to Asia. Apostle Paul set foot in Europe in this very city, and from here he went to Philippi where he founded the first Christian church of the Continent.

In the Byzantine Era the city is found as Christoupolis, a meeting point, right on the Ancient Via Egnatia. One hundred and fifty years later it was renamed into Kavala and has Ottoman, Christian and Hebrew inhabitants, while in the 16th century Suleiman the Magnificent carried out several works in the city (the most important of them being the aqueduct “Kamares”), thus contributing to its urban development.

The “golden era” of the city was the 19th century, when tobacco and the expansion of the city’s harbour for the export of tobacco created a significant agricultural, commercial and handicraft activity. The development of the tertiary sector was marked by the founding of a number of banks, consulates of European countries and the local press. The 20th century brought to the city a new dynamic population feature: the refugees from Asia Minor and the population exchange.

Kavala of today is the capital of the homonymous Prefecture and after Thessaloniki the second largest city in Northern Greece. It has a strategic location, and an incomparable natural beauty, as well as a great development potential.