Traditional Settlement, Skoteina

In the foothills of the Pierian Mountains, at an altitude of 700 meters and approximately 35 kilometers from Katerini via the Provincial Road to Elassona, visitors encounter the mountainous traditional settlement of Skoteina or Morna, which means “dark place”. This was the name until the mid-1920s, derived from the shaded nature of the location due to the dense vegetation surrounding the area.

Although the village has been abandoned by residents since 1965, when the new village of Foteina was founded, many of the stone houses of the settlement still stand today, serving as examples of local Macedonian folk architecture.

The area is home to two churches, Saint Paraskevi and Saint Nikolaos, the latter of which reportedly collapsed twice, most recently in 1950. According to tradition, the initial inhabitants of the settlement were refugees from Petra, Olympus, who settled in the cells of the Monastery of Saint Nicholas, possibly a glebe of the Holy Monastery of Petra, Olympus.

During the German occupation, specifically on December 19, 1943, ten villagers were executed by the Nazis, including a priest, while the village was also set on fire and looted by the invaders. Today, the names of the victims are commemorated on a memorial column within the settlement.

For a significant period, until 1966, the State Wood Processing Factory operated in Skoteina, processing high-quality, globally renowned beech wood. In 1956, the Prime Minister Konstantinos Karamanlis, during the Thessaloniki International Fair, awarded a Gold Medal to the factory managers for its contribution to the national economy.