Traditional Village of Chrisso

The Traditional Settlement of Chrisso in Phocis is a beautiful preserved settlement, built amphitheatrically at the foot of Parnassus, at an altitude of approximately 200 meters, with a population of about 590 inhabitants in 2021. The current name Chrisso comes from a corruption of the ancient city of Krisa, which was built in the 14th–15th century BC and was an important center of the Phocian territory. There are ruins of the walls of Krisa to the south, on the “Stefani” hill, while the village is already mentioned from the Byzantine period and the Catalan occupation (1319) and then under the Ottomans. Registered as a preserved traditional settlement, with stone cobbled streets, picturesque squares, an ancient plane tree in the center, and running waters. Most buildings date from the late 19th / early 20th century, with neoclassical mansions, stone houses, and gardens, a result of the economic prosperity from olive cultivation. The village was destroyed by the Parnassus earthquake in 1870 and was subsequently rebuilt with the character it retains to this day.