Skiathos town description and photos - Greece: Skiathos island (Topic)

Skiathos town description and photos - Greece: Skiathos Island. Detailed information about the attraction. Description, photographs and a map showing the nearest significant objects. The name in English is Skiathos town.

Photo and description

Skiathos is the capital of the island of the same name in the Aegean Sea. The city is built as an amphitheater in a picturesque bay on the southeast coast of the island. It is a typical Greek resort town with narrow streets and white tiled houses.

In ancient times, during the wars with the Persians, the island did not have much influence. In 480 BC. off the coast of Skiathos, the fleet of the Persian king Xerxes was severely damaged and the fleet of the Persian king Xerxes was damaged. The Greeks trapped the Persians in a narrow bay near Cape Artemisium between the island of Euboea and mainland Greece. This was the only chance to defeat the vastly outnumbered Persian army. Here the first battle took place, which went down in history as the Battle of Artemisia. The Greeks managed to finally defeat the Persian fleet already near the island of Salamis (Battle of Salamis). After the victory and until the loss of its independence, Skiathos was a member of the Delian Union. The city was destroyed by Philip V of Macedon in 200 AD

In 1207, the island was captured by the Gizi brothers, who built a small Venetian-style fortress in Skiathos, similar to the Bourdzi fortress in Nafplion, to protect against pirates. Unfortunately, the fortress was not reliable enough. In the middle of the 14th century, the inhabitants left the city and settled in a more inaccessible place on a high cliff in the northern part of the island. The new settlement was called Castro. The population finally returned to the territory of ancient Skiathos only at the beginning of the 19th century. The city was rebuilt. During World War II, Skiathos was thoroughly destroyed during the bombing.

In the post-war period, the city was gradually rebuilt and in 1964 was designated by the National Tourism Organization of Greece as a promising area for tourism development. A new coastal road, airport and hotels were built. Today the city has a well-developed infrastructure. There are shops, banks, schools, post office, etc. Skiathos has an excellent selection of hotels and cozy apartments, as well as great restaurants, cafes and nightclubs. Vacationers will be delighted by the picturesque nature and excellent beaches of Skiathos.

Among the main attractions worth visiting while vacationing in Skiathos are the Alexandros Papadiamantis House Museum, Skiathos Castle and the Panagia Evangelista Monastery.

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Topic: Skiathos town description and photos - Greece: Skiathos island.