The Municipality of Pilea-Hortiatis belongs to the Region of Central Macedonia and was formed according to the provisions of law 3852/2010 ‘Kallikratis Plan’. While Panorama is the seat of the municipality, Hortiatis has been designated as its historical seat.
It consists of the following three municipal units:
1. Panorama, with a population of 17,546
2. Pilea, with a population of 34,678
3. Hortiatis, with a total population of 18,429, consisting of the municipal communities of Asvestohori (6,404 inhabitants), Filyro (5,440 inhabitants), and Hortiatis (4,809 inhabitants), and the local community of Exohi (1,776 inhabitants). The former Municipality of Hortiatis had been formed according to law 2539/1997 on the Primary Local Government Reform, also known as ‘Kapodistrias Plan’ (Official Gazette issue 244, A, 04.12.1997) and consisted of the former communities of Asvestohori, Exohi, Filyro, and Hortiatis.
The Municipality of Pilea-Hortiatis is located 18 km northeast of the urban Complex of Thessaloniki and borders the Municipality of Langadas to the north and northeast, the Municipality of Thermi to the south and southeast and the Municipalities of Kalamaria, Thessaloniki, Neapoli-Sykies, and Pavlos Melas to the west, while it is washed by the Thermaic Gulf to the southeast. The eastern part of the municipality contains Mt Hortiatis and the forests of Sheikh Sou and ‘Kouri’, as well as the grove of Filyro. Mt Ηortiatis, at 1,201 m above sea level, is the highest mountain in the area, with the homonymous suburb built on its foothills.
The villages of Asvestohori, Exohi and Filyro are situated on the hill range of Asvestohori at 600 m above sea level, while Profitis Ilias, in Asvestohori, and Panorama rise to 738 m and 380 m above sea level, respectively.
Exohi owes its exceptional charm to its proximity to large stretches of lush greenery; the forest of Sheikh Sou extends to the south and the stream of Dendropotamos, a most characteristic feature of the specific landscape, crosses the area flowing from southeast to northwest and continuing towards Asvestohori.
The Municipal Community of Filyro boasts the forest of Amadryas at the edge of the village, a grove in its northwest part, and a stream flowing between the two demarcated sections of the village, which lend the area a unique natural beauty.
The land area of the Municipality of Pilea-Hortiatis is approximately 155,800 km2. It extends from Mt Hortiatis to the Thermaic Gulf and possesses places of breathtaking natural beauty and a long exploitable seaside zone in its south-southeastern part. The coastline is approximately 4.5 km long, although the accessible zone is only 1.5 km long. A part of the seashore has been converted to recreation and commercial areas, while it also hosts activities of the secondary sector. To the south of it, however, there is a free zone owned by the municipality which has not been subject to any man-made change.
Over the last two decades, the area that makes up the present-day Municipality of Pilea-Hortiatis, has witnessed constant residential and population growth, a phenomenon due to the deurbanization of the city of Thessaloniki. According to the last census, which was conducted in 2011, the population of the municipality amounts to 70,653 inhabitants, therefore Pilea-Hortiatis ranks fourth nationwide among the municipalities that have exhibited the largest population growth, namely ~41% in relation to the previous census, that of 2001.
Every municipal unit today exhibits certain noteworthy developmental features, and more specifically:
Panorama, from the 1970s onwards, started growing and developing into an affluent suburb of Thessaloniki and today it is a purely residential area with middle to very high-income residents. Over the last two decades, the number of luxury houses and villas built in Panorama has greatly increased, as a consequence of the overall socioeconomic growth of the country. Thus, important private and public service providers of the tertiary sector, as well as providers of specialized education and social support services, are active in the area.
Pilea is a non-purely residential area where remarkable residential growth and significant commercial and industrial activity have been noted over the last two decades. Large stores, shopping centres and other service provision enterprises, including modern malls, luxury hotels, multi-purpose playgrounds, etc., serve not only the needs of the municipality and Thessaloniki, but also those of the broader area of the prefecture and of the Region of Central Macedonia in general. Growth factors in Pilea include the largest private medical units in Northern Greece (such as the Interbalkan Medical Center of Thessaloniki, the private maternity hospital ‘Genesis’, Euromedica ‘Arogi’ Rehabilitation and Recovery Center of Thessaloniki and the modern vet clinic Animal Medical Centre of Thessaloniki). European and international bodies of development, education, research and technology also operate in the area, including CEDEFOP, the famous college ‘Anatolia’, the American Farm School, the German School of Thessaloniki, the Greek-French School Kalamari, the Aristotle College, the Arsakeio School of Thessaloniki, the Model Schools of Thessaloniki, the Apostolos Pavlos School, etc. One of the specialized health services and social support structures in Pilea is the Recovery and Rehabilitation Centre for Children with Disabilities ‘Agios Dimitrios’. PAOK SPORTS ARENA, which hosts PAOK BC, the professional basketball department of the Pan-Thessalonian Athletic Club of Constantinopolitans (PAOK) is also located in Pilea.
Hortiatis is a non-purely residential area where remarkable residential growth has been noted over the last twenty years, whereas agricultural and stock-raising activities, which had continued incessantly throughout the 20th century, have been dramatically reduced due to the recent broader socioeconomic changes. until 1997, the Community of Asvestohori was the seat of the Municipality of Hortiatis, which was formed in the context of Kapodistrias Plan. Similarly, from that year onwards Exohi and Filyro were no longer communities and formed part of the newly established Municipality of Hortiatis as the local administrative districts of Exohi and Filyro, respectively. Ιn the former Municipality of Ηortiatis there are remarkable health and social support structures, such as the famous General hospital of Thessaloniki ‘George Papanikolaou’, which is located in the Municipal Community of Exohi. Extensive gastronomic activity has been noted in the entire area of Ηortiatis since the 1970s, with numerous quality culinary establishments attracting visitors and excursionists from the broader area of Thessaloniki on a daily basis.