Pylaia

Pylaia Πυλαία
Pylaia
Location within the regional unit
Coordinates: 40°36′N 22°59′E / 40.600°N 22.983°E / 40.600; 22.983Coordinates: 40°36′N 22°59′E / 40.600°N 22.983°E / 40.600; 22.983
Country	Greece
Administrative region	Central Macedonia
Regional unit	Thessaloniki
Municipality	Pylaia-Chortiatis
• Municipal unit	24.379 km2 (9.413 sq mi)
Population (2011)
• Municipal unit	34,625
• Municipal unit density	1,400/km2 (3,700/sq mi)
Time zone	EET (UTC+2)
• Summer (DST)	EEST (UTC+3)

Pylaia (Greek: Πυλαία) is a municipality of the Thessaloniki Urban Area and a former municipality in the regional unit of Thessaloniki, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Pylaia-Chortiatis, of which it is a municipal unit. Pylaia covers 24.379 km² with 4,5 km of coastline extending along the shores of the Thermaic Gulf and had a population of 34,625 inhabitants at the 2011 census. Pylaia is relatively sparsely populated for a municipality within the Thessaloniki Urban Area.

The first reference to Pylaia is found in the historian Thucydides, in 319 BC, under the name Strepsa. It was later known as Kapoutzida, from the Turkish word kapıcı ("gatekeeper"), deriving from the guards watching over the city walls of Byzantine Thessaloniki. The current name came into general use in 1927, and is derived from the word Pyle (πυλη), meaning gateway and referring to the Eastern Entrance of the city.