Skiathos

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Skiathos (Σκιάθος)
Coordinates	39°10′ N 23°29′ E
Country	Greece
Periphery	Thessaly
Prefecture	Magnesia
Population	6,160 source (2001)
Area	49.9 km²
Population density	123 /km²
Elevation	0-436 m
Postal code	370 02
Area code	24270
Licence plate code	ΒΟ
Website	n-skiathos.gr

Skiathos (Greek: Σκιάθος), Latin forms: Sciathos and Sciathus is a city and a small island in the Aegean Sea belonging to Greece. It is next to Skopelos, it also consists of 1 main town (Skiathos Town) and the settlements being Koukounaries, Kanapitsa, Vromolimnos and Troullos. Skiathos is the westernmost island in the Sporades group of islands. The mainland Greece along with Magnesia is to the west. The name of the island dates back to ancient times.

Skiathos town has a school, a lyceum, a gymnasium, many churches, banks, a post office, and a square (plateia). The island of Skiathos has 70 beaches all around it. It is also has a port which small boats are founded and ferry services to Skopelos and Volos and Agios Konstantinos with the rest of Greece. It is aligned within the city.

1 Geography
2 Transportation
3 History
4 Historical population
5 Persons
6 Significant Sites on Skiathos
7 External links

[edit] Geography

Skiathos satellite photo.

Much of the island is forested. The area around the villages and Skiathos Town are deforested farmland. The island's forests are pine and are located in the southeastern part of the island. The island of Skopelos can be seen from Skiathos with the more distant islands of Euboea and Scyros also visible in clearer conditions. The mountaintop, which has a communications tower, is to the west. The slope of the hill is to the north and contains several valleys.

Skiathos has approximately 70 beaches including one nudist beach at south end of the island (Banana beach).

[edit] Transportation

An Air Malta flight prepares to leave from Skiathos International Airport.

The island is linked to mainland Greece with sea routes from Thessaloniki, Volos and Agios Konstantinos and also to the rest of the Sporades (all by hydrofoil, Hellanic seaways). This costs roughly €12 a person return to Skopelos and €15 return to Alonissos (car Ferries are also available but not as regular out of holiday season). There also exists an airport at the northeast of the island. The airport has the shortest runway in Europe measuring only 3/4 of a mile which means that aircraft landings can be a little hair-raising. Subsequent take-offs result in a short flight before landing at another airfield to refuel as most aircraft are unable to take off with a full load of fuel from the short runway , although early and late on in the holiday season it is possible to make it all the way back to the United kingdom on a B757 due to lighter passenger loads. There is airline connection (Olympic approx 45 mins) to Athens throughout the year.

The roads are to the south and to the east and to the northwest. There are no gravel roads to the central and the northern part. There is only one major road and is linked with all of the four settlements on the island. The one linking to the northwest are not used and has the view of the eastern part of Magnesia.

There is frequent bus connection from Koukounaries to Skiathos town with buses stopping approximately every 20 minutes, costing €1.40 to travel from one end of the island to the other. Taxis are also very cheap, although their driving leaves a little to be desired.

[edit] History

In Ancient times, the island played a minor role during the Persian Wars. In 480 BC, the fleet of the Persian king Xerxes was hit by a storm and was badly damaged on the rocks of the Skiathos coast. Following this the Greek fleet was beaten at Artemisium but finally managed to destroy the Persian fleet at the Battle of Salamis. Skiathos remained in the Delian League until it lost its independence. The city was destroyed by Philip II of Macedon in 200 BC.

The Bourtzi of Skiathos at dawn.

During the middle ages the island was repeatedly ravaged by pirate attacks. In 1207 the Gyzi brothers captured the island and buit the Bourtzi, a small Venetian-styled fortress similar to the Bourtzi in Nafplio, 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 middle 14th century the inhabitants moved the capital from the ancient site that lay where modern Skiathos town is to Kastro (the Greek word for castle), 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, when the island's capital was relocated to the original site - where it still remains.

In 1704 monks from Athos built the Evangelistria monastery which played a part on the Greek War of Independence as a hide-out for Greek rebels.

During the 19th century Skiathos became an important shipbuilding centre in the Aegean due to the abundance of pine 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 steamboats. A small shipwright remains north of Skiathos town, who still builds traditional Greek caiques.

In 1964 Skiathos was designated by the Greek National Tourism Organisation 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, the construction of Skiathos airport 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 have been 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.

[edit] Historical population

Skiathos and its harbor along with the highest point on the island as seen from the Bourtzi

Year	Communal population	Change (town)	Municipal/Island population
1981	4,129	-	-
1991	4,512	383/9.28%	5,096
2001	-	-	about 5,100

The majority of the population (584 or 88.5%) of the total population live in the city. There are no municipal boundaries. It is encircled with the Aegean Sea.