Skiathos (town)
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Skiathos Σκιάθος |
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Skiathos harbour
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 Skiathos
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Location within the region
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| Coordinates: 39°10′N 23°29′E / 39.167°N 23.483°ECoordinates: 39°10′N 23°29′E / 39.167°N 23.483°E | |
| Country | Greece |
| Administrative region | Thessaly |
| Regional unit | Sporades |
| Municipality | Skiathos |
| Highest elevation | 436 m (1,430 ft) |
| Lowest elevation | 0 m (0 ft) |
| Community | |
| • Population | 4,883 (2011) |
| Time zone | EET (UTC+2) |
| • Summer (DST) | EEST (UTC+3) |
| Postal code | 370 02 |
| Area code(s) | 24270 |
| Vehicle registration | ΒΟ |
| Website | www.n-skiathos.gr |
Skiathos (Greek: Σκιάθος) is a city on the island of Skiathos in the Aegean Sea belonging to Greece. 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, Volos, Agios Konstantinos and the rest of Greece.
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 held to stalemate with the Persian fleet 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 V of Macedon in 200 BC.
In 1207 the brothers Geremia and Andrea Ghisi captured the island and built 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 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, when the island's capital was relocated to the original site, where it still remains.
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Wikipedia