Skiathos Island Things to Do

The Monastery of Panagia Kechrias is built in a pretty valley among olive trees and pine trees. Only the "Katholikon" of the monastery (its church) has been saved. It has a wooden icon screen and frescoes covering the whole church. It was built in the 18th century.

The Monastery of the Annunciation provided significant moral and material assistance to the pre-revolutionary movements as well as during the revolution of 1821. It was there, that in the year 1807, the first Greek flag with the white Cross at its center on a blue background was designed, woven, blessed and raised. It was on this flag that Father Niphon swore in the guerrilla leaders Theodore Kolokotronis, Andreas Miaoulis, Papathymios Vlakhavas, Iannis Stathas, Nikotsaras, the Skiathian Teacher of the Nation, Epiphanios - Stephanos Dimitriadis and many others following the great assembly held at the monastery to lay out plans to liberate the (Greek) Nation. The philosopher priest, Theophilos Kairis, following his conviction by the Holy Synod in 1839, was confined to the Monastery.

Immersed in the greenery, deep in the Lekhounio gorge beside the springs in the place called Agalianos, under Karaphlytzanakia, the highest peak on Skiathos, stands the Holy Communal Monastery dedicated to the Annunciation of the Virgin, the Evagelistria Monastery or Vagelistria as it is called by the Skiathians. Construction of the monastery was started in 1794 by a group of kollyvados monks who had been forced to leave the Holy Mount of Athos in the face of disturbances resulting from disputes over the celebration of Canonical Requiem Masses Saturdays rather than Sundays. The objective was a return to the tradition of the Ancient Orthodox Church. The group leader was Niphon, an Ordained Monk, whose worldly name was Nicholas "from the line of the Nicholarades", who was born in 1736 at the village of Patrika on the island of Chios. He served in the Monastery of the Greatest Banner and the retreat of the Omnipotent on the Holy Mount of Athos. Initially he went to Samos, Patmos, Leipso and Icaria where, in 1775, he founded the monastery of the Annunciation at Leucada. Amongst the monks at the Monastery of the Annunciation was one Gregorios Khadjistamatis, a Skiathian, who, upon the death of his father, inherited extensive property on Skiathos. Possessing this large estate Gregorios persuaded Niphon to move to the green island of Skiathos and establish a new monastery, abandoning Icaria "for the all-pervading barrenness and unwholesomeness of the place". Construction of the monastery complex was completed in 1806 and it became the epicenter of the kollyvados both during the disputation and in the following years. The kollyvados spirit has profoundly influenced the life of the Skiathian islanders and that most significant writer of (modern) Greek prose, Alexander Papadiamantis and also of the Skiathian author Alexander Moraitidis.

"I Panagia i Limnia" with an impressive bell-tower rising over the whole village this is the second parish church of the island. The icons from "Christos sto Kastro - Christ in the Castle" as well as Papadiamantis's head are kept here. The parish of Panagia continues to preserve the traditions and customs of the island, so vividly represented in the written work of Alexandros Papadiamantis and Alexandros Moraitidis.

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Papadiamantis was born on the island of Skiathos. The island would figure prominently in his work. His father was a priest. He moved to Athens as a young man to complete his high school studies, and enrolled in the philosophy faculty of Athens University, but never completed his studies. He returned to his native island in later life, and died there. He supported himself (very meagerly) by writing throughout his adult life, anything from journalism and short stories to several serialized novels. The house where Alexandros Papadiamantis was born on 4th March 1851 does not exist today. It was sold and the new owners knocked it down. Papadiamantis grew up and died in the new house his father built in 1860, as it is said on a built-in inscription on one of its walls. This house is located about 100 metres inland from the eastern coast of the city, in a narrow street which is a dead-end. It could be said that it is a sidestreet of the present Papadiamanti street. The smallest room on the right was in the beginning a priest's room where Adamantios, Alexandros' father, kept his books and his vestments. Later, it belonged to Alexandros and he used it as a bedroom and a study. It resembled a monastery cell with a window, a built-in cupboard and his narrow and small bed. Right opposite the entrance, there is the living-room of the house with a coloured diamond-shaped design on the ceiling as the only decoration.The house is generally a simple, austere island house. Today the old entrance of the house which is on the western side is closed. The entrance side and the visitors enter the house - museum through external wooden stairs.

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Bourtzi is a small peninsula which separates the port of Skiathos in two. In the past it was a fort, which was established by the Gizi brothers who occupied Skiathos in 1207. It was surrounded by walls battlements and embrasures and on the left and right of the gate there were two round towers. It is not possible to determine the height of the walls by the present ruins. Moreover, in the fort there was a tank and a small church called Agios Georgios, protector of the Venetians, probably built by the Gizi brothers. Because of that church, Bourtzi was also called "Kastelli tou Agiou Georgiou - Castle of St. George". The fort was destroyed in 1660 when the admiral Fransesco Morozini occupied the island. In 1823 though the ruined embrasures, the island inhabitants - both Skiathians and refugees - managed to repulse Topal - pasha. After the liberation, the first lazaret of the island operated in Bourtzi. In 1906 a primary school was built in the centre of the peninsula, donated by Andreas Syngros. In the entrance of that school since 1925 there has been the bust of Alexandros Papadiamantis. Nowadays, Bourtzi is really a rare recreation place. It is full of pine trees, always with fresh, cool air and with a magnificent view. There are few ruins of the old fort and we can see, on the left and right of the street leading to the entrance of the old school, the sites of the church of Agios Georgios and of the fort tank. The old primary school has been converted into a picturesque cultural centre, with the initiative of the present municipal authorities. In it, there are practical conference rooms in good taste and a fabulous summer theatre which hosts successful theatrical and musical performances every summer. Moreover, in Bourtzi there is a municipal cafe where special nights are held.

This beach has been named after the little island found there which looks like a dome (troullos). It is situated on the way to Koukounaries right after the crossing which leads to the monastery of Panagia Eikonistria. You can reach Troullos by road and enjoy a swim in the bluish - green transparent waters under the shade of the pine trees which reach almost the sea water

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Lalaria is one of the nicest and most picturesque beaches of Greece and it is situated on the northeastern tip of the island. The northern winds fall with rage on the steep purely white cliffs, towering impressively over the sea.