Skiathos () is a city on the island of

Skiathos Skiathos (, ; , ; and ) is a small Greece, Greek Islands of Greece, island in the northwest Aegean Sea. Skiathos is the westernmost island in the Northern Sporades archipelago, east of the Pelion peninsula in Magnesia (regional unit), Magnesia ...

in the

Aegean Sea The Aegean Sea is an elongated embayment of the Mediterranean Sea between Europe and Asia. It is located between the Balkans and Anatolia, and covers an area of some . In the north, the Aegean is connected to the Marmara Sea, which in turn con ...

belonging to

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

. Skiathos town has a school, a lyceum, a gymnasium, many churches, banks, a post office, and a square. It has a port which shelters small boats and from where ferry services connect to

Skopelos Skopelos (, ) is a Greek island in the western Aegean Sea. Skopelos is one of several islands that comprise the Northern Sporades island group, which lies east of the Pelion peninsula on the mainland and north of the island of Euboea. It is par ...

Volos Volos (; ) is a coastal port city in Thessaly situated midway on the Greek mainland, about north of Athens and south of Thessaloniki. It is the capital of the Magnesia (regional unit), Magnesia regional unit of the Thessaly Region. Volos ...

, Agios Konstantinos and the rest of Greece.

History

Ancient times Ancient history is a time period from the History of writing, beginning of writing and recorded human history through late antiquity. The span of recorded history is roughly 5,000 years, beginning with the development of Sumerian language, ...

, the island played a minor role during the

Persian Wars The Greco-Persian Wars (also often called the Persian Wars) were a series of conflicts between the Achaemenid Empire and Greek city-states that started in 499 BC and lasted until 449 BC. The collision between the fractious political world of th ...

. In 480 BC, the fleet of the

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

king Xerxes was hit by a storm and was badly damaged on the rocks of the Skiathos coast. Following this the Greek fleet was held to stalemate with the Persian fleet at

Artemisium Artemisium or Artemision ( Greek: Ἀρτεμίσιον) is a cape in northern Euboea, Greece. The hollow cast bronze statue of Zeus or Poseidon, known as the Artemision Bronze, was found off this cape in a sunken ship, as was the Jockey of ...

but finally managed to destroy the Persian fleet at the

Battle of Salamis The Battle of Salamis ( ) was a naval battle fought in 480 BC, between an alliance of Greek city-states under Themistocles, and the Achaemenid Empire under King Xerxes. It resulted in a victory for the outnumbered Greeks. The battle was fou ...

. Skiathos remained in the

Delian League The Delian League was a confederacy of Polis, Greek city-states, numbering between 150 and 330, founded in 478 BC under the leadership (hegemony) of Classical Athens, Athens, whose purpose was to continue fighting the Achaemenid Empire, Persian ...

until it lost its independence. The city was destroyed by

Philip V of Macedon Philip V (; 238–179 BC) was king of the Ancient Greece, ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia (ancient kingdom), Macedon from 221 to 179 BC. Philip's reign was principally marked by the Social War (220–217 BC), Social War in Greece (220-217 BC) ...

in 200 BC.

Venetian Era

In 1207 the brothers

Geremia Geremia and Geremias are surnames. Geremia can also be a name. Those bearing them include: 14-17th century * Geremia Ghisi, a Venetian nobleman who in ca. 1207 followed the Fourth Crusade * Geremia da Montagnone (died 1320/1321), Italian jud ...

and

Andrea Ghisi Andrea Ghisi was a Venetian nobleman, and the first Lord of Tinos and Mykonos. There are no sources about him until 1207 when he participated in the expedition organized by Marco Sanudo for the conquest of the Greek islands which, three years ...

captured the island and built the Bourtzi, a small Venetian-styled fortress similar to the Bourtzi in

Nafplio Nafplio or Nauplio () is a coastal city located in the Peloponnese in Greece. It is the capital of the regional unit of Argolis and an important tourist destination. Founded in antiquity, the city became an important seaport in the Middle Ages du ...

, on an islet just out of Skiathos town, to protect the capital from the pirates. But the Bourtzi was ineffective in protecting the population and in the mid-14th century the inhabitants moved the capital from the ancient site to Kastro, located on a high rock, overlooking a steep cliff above the sea at the northernmost part of the island. Kastro remained the only settlement of the island until the end of the

Greek War of Independence The Greek War of Independence, also known as the Greek Revolution or the Greek Revolution of 1821, was a successful war of independence by Greek revolutionaries against the Ottoman Empire between 1821 and 1829. In 1826, the Greeks were assisted ...

, when the island's capital was relocated to the original site, where it still remains.

Ottoman Era

In 1704 monks from Athos built the

Evangelistria Monastery, Skiathos The Monastery of the Annunciation (), commonly known as the Evangelistria Monastery (), is a monastery dedicated to the Annunciation of the Virgin Mary which sits on a hillside some 4 km north of Skiathos (town), Skiathos town on the Greek i ...

which played a part in the

as a hide-out for Greek rebels. The first

flag of Greece The national flag of Greece, popularly referred to as the Blue-and-White (, ) or the Cyan-and-White (, ), is officially recognised by Greece as one of its national symbols and has 5 equal horizontal stripes of blue alternating with white. There ...

was created and hoisted in Skiathos in 1807. Several prominent military leaders. (including

Theodoros Kolokotronis Theodoros Kolokotronis (; 3 April 1770 – ) was a Greek general and the pre-eminent leader of the Greek War of Independence (1821–1829) against the Ottoman Empire. The son of a klepht leader who fought the Ottomans during the Orlov revolt ...

and

Andreas Miaoulis Andreas Vokos, better known by his nickname Miaoulis (; 1765 – 24 June 1835), was a Greek revolutionary, admiral, and politician who commanded Greek naval forces during the Greek War of Independence (1821–1829). Biography Miaoulis was ...

), had gathered there for consultation concerning an uprising, and they were sworn to this flag by the local bishop. During the 19th century Skiathos became an important

shipbuilding Shipbuilding is the construction of ships and other Watercraft, floating vessels. In modern times, it normally takes place in a specialized facility known as a shipyard. Shipbuilders, also called shipwrights, follow a specialized occupation th ...

centre in the Aegean due to the abundance of

pine A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus ''Pinus'' () of the family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae. ''World Flora Online'' accepts 134 species-rank taxa (119 species and 15 nothospecies) of pines as cu ...

forests on the island. The pine woods of the island were then almost obliterated. This was brought to a halt though, due to the emergence of

steamboat A steamboat is a boat that is marine propulsion, propelled primarily by marine steam engine, steam power, typically driving propellers or Paddle steamer, paddlewheels. The term ''steamboat'' is used to refer to small steam-powered vessels worki ...

s. A small

shipwright Shipbuilding is the construction of ships and other floating vessels. In modern times, it normally takes place in a specialized facility known as a shipyard. Shipbuilders, also called shipwrights, follow a specialized occupation that traces i ...

remains north of Skiathos town, which still builds traditional Greek

caïque A caïque (, ''kaiki'', from ) is a traditional fishing boat usually found among the waters of the Ionian Sea, Ionian or Aegean Sea, and also a light skiff used on the Bosporus. It is traditionally a small wooden trading vessel, brightly painted ...

Modern Skiathos

In 1964 Skiathos was designated by the

Greek National Tourism Organisation The Greek National Tourism Organisation (, ''Ethnikos Organismos Tourismou''), often abbreviated as GNTO () is the governmental Board for the promotion of tourism in Greece. It functions under the supervision of the Minister of Tourism (Greece), M ...

as a development zone for tourism. The results of this decision have largely transformed the island, due to tourist-orientated construction projects. These include the construction of the coast road from Skiathos town to

Koukounaries Koukounaries (, l "stone pines") is a location and a beach in the southwest part of the Skiathos island in Greece. It is 16 km southwest of the main town on the island. Skiathos is part of the Sporades group of islands in the Northern Aegean ...

, the construction of

Skiathos Airport Skiathos Alexandros Papadiamantis Airport is an airport on the island of Skiathos, Greece. Its runway is able to accommodate aircraft up to the size of a Boeing 757-200. The runway is characterised as 'short and narrow'. Because of the uneven ...

in 1984 and the construction of the first large hotel over Koukounaries beach. Along the coast road many hotels have been constructed since the island became an important tourist destination. There were protests in the early-2000s, one against mining in September 2002 as they were pushing away mining trucks which was owned by the municipality and another in 2004, a power line which would have connect hydro with the rest of the Sporades was also being protested due to the plan being in a forested area.

Geography

The area around the villages and Skiathos Town are farmland. The island of

can be seen from Skiathos with the more distant islands of

Euboea Euboea ( ; , ), also known by its modern spelling Evia ( ; , ), is the second-largest Greek island in area and population, after Crete, and the sixth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. It is separated from Boeotia in mainland Greece by ...

and

Scyros Skyros (, ), in some historical contexts Latinized Scyros (, ), is an island in Greece. It is the southernmost island of the Sporades, an archipelago in the Aegean Sea. Around the 2nd millennium BC, the island was known as The Island of the Ma ...

also visible in clearer conditions.

Transportation

There is frequent bus connection from

to Skiathos town with buses stopping approximately every 20 minutes, costing €3.00 to travel from one end of the island to the other. Taxis are also very cheap. Skiathos is served by

Skiathos International Airport Skiathos Alexandros Papadiamantis Airport is an airport on the island of Skiathos, Greece. Its runway is able to accommodate aircraft up to the size of a Boeing 757-200. The runway is characterised as 'short and narrow'. Because of the uneven ...

Historical Population

Gallery

File:Skiathos 2 wisnia6522.JPG, View of the port File:Skiathos Stadt.JPG, Panoramic view File:Street in Skiathos Town.JPG, Street in Skiathos Town File:Church in Skiathos Town.JPG, Church in Skiathos Town

References

External links

Municipality of Skiathos
{{Authority control
Skiathos Sailing
Populated places in the Sporades Mediterranean port cities and towns in Greece Skiathos Members of the Delian League Populated places in the ancient Aegean islands