Agios Efstratios
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Municipality of Agios Efstratios Δήμος Αγίου Ευστρατίου |
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| Basic data | |||
| State : |
 Greece
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| Region : | North Aegean | ||
| Regional District : | Limnos | ||
| Geographic coordinates : | 39 ° 31 ' N , 25 ° 0' E | ||
| Area : | 43.325 km² | ||
| Residents : | 270 (2011) | ||
| Population density : | 6.2 inhabitants / km² | ||
| Seat: | Agios Efstratios | ||
| LAU-1 code no .: | 5502 | ||
| Districts : | no | ||
| Local self-government : | no | ||
| Website: | www.agios-efstratios.gov.gr | ||
| Location in the North Aegean region | |||
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The Greek island of Agios Efstratios ( Greek Άγιος Ευστράτιος ( m. Sg. )), Called Ai Stratis (Άη Στράτης) by the residents, forms a community with some rocky islands and, together with Limnos, forms the regional district of Limnos in the North Aegean region . According to the 2011 census, the island has 270 inhabitants.
The current name can be traced back to Saint Eustratios , who took refuge from Leo III during the Byzantine iconoclasm . was looking for on the island.
location
Agios Efstratios is located in the northern Aegean about 30 km south of Limnos , 60 km northeast of Skyros and 76 km northwest of Lesbos . The island is of volcanic origin, the mostly steep coastline is interspersed with cliffs and grottos. To the northeast, in the Alonitsi area, is the largest valley on the island. With a length of 11 km and a max. The island is 6 km wide and is 42.08 km² in size. Since several mountains have a height of 300 m, the information about height and mountain vary depending on the source location. The Simadi (Σημάδι) is given as 298 m (288 m). The Lemoni Rachi also with 298 m
In the vicinity of Agios Efstratios there are numerous rocky islets, of which Daskalio, Velia and the Agii Apostoli are the largest.
history
Settlement remains from different epochs in different places suggest that the island has been around since the 3rd millennium BC. Until the Byzantine period was inhabited. Bronze Age settlement remains from the 3rd millennium BC BC, a Mycenaean settlement, an ancient city and an ancient cemetery can be detected.
Because of pirate raids that continued until the late 14th century , the island was probably abandoned during the 15th century. The Ottoman cartographer Piri Reis described it as uninhabited in 1520. In the middle of the 16th century, the island was repopulated in what is now the harbor bay.
The earthquake on February 19, 1968 with a magnitude of 7.2 on the Richter scale with an epicenter southwest of the island almost completely destroyed the port and the island's capital of the same name. The basilica of Agios Vasilios (Άγιος Βασίλειος) built in 1727 was one of the few structures that withstood the earthquake. Because of the severe destruction, the place was rebuilt at a higher location.
The rural community of Agios Efstratios ( Kinotita Agiou Efstratiou Κοινότητα Αγίου Ευστρατίου) was founded in 1918. With the implementation of the administrative reform in 2010 , Agios Efstratios received the status of a municipality ( Dimos Agiou Efstratiou Δήμος Αγίου Ευστρατίου).
In June 2017 the island was hit by an extreme plague of locusts, so that a state of emergency had to be declared.
| year | 1920 | 1928 | 1940 | 1951 | 1961 | 1971 | 1981 | 1991 | 2001 | 2011 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Residents | 894 | 786 | 1131 | 3849 | 1061 | 422 | 269 | 286 | 371 | 270 |
Exile
Between 1928 and 1963, numerous political prisoners were exiled to the remote island. From 1936 to 1948 there were 300 prisoners. A total of 6,000 opposition members are said to have been interned who had to organize their own lives. Most of the prisoners lived in tents and self-built huts. By malnutrition and diseases , there were many deaths. Among the prisoners were the poets and writers Giannis Ritsos , Tasos Livaditis , Kostas Varnalis and Nikos Karouzos , the composer Mikis Theodorakis and the actor Manos Katrakis .
The politician and resistance fighter Evripidis Bakirtzis was exiled to Agios Efstratios twice.
Flora and fauna
flora
Agios Efstratios is over 60% overgrown with typical representatives of the Phrygana and Macchia . The thorny knapweed ( Centaurea spinosa ) also thrives here . In the northeast there is a scattered population of the Valonea oak ( Quercus macrolepis ). In the vicinity of the village there are also white willow ( Salix alba ), white poplar ( Populus alba ) and monk's pepper ( Vitex agnus-castus ). Viticulture was carried out until 1968, after the earthquake there were changes in the subsoil, which caused the vines to dry out and die.
fauna
The cliffs and grottos of the steep coast offer the Mediterranean monk seal ( Monachus monachus ) habitat and protection. The species is classified as Critically Endangered (CR) on the national and international Red List .
The entire island and the adjoining marine area are included as the European bird sanctuary GR 4110014 Agios Efstratios (Νήσος Άγιος Ευστράτιος και θαλάσσια ζώνη) in the Europe-wide biotope network Natura 2000 , because bird species worthy of protection breed here. On the islands of the northern Aegean are the most important colonies of shags . The breeding areas on Agios Efstratios are in inaccessible locations on the rugged rocky coast and on the small offshore rock islands. Of the estimated 1,000 to 1,200 pairs in Greece, up to 60 breed on the island. It is estimated that up to 50 birds winter on the island. The island is also a breeding ground for up to 300 pairs of Eleanor's falcons and Mediterranean shearwaters .
The herpetofauna of Agios Efstratios includes the four species Mediodactylus kotschyi , Ophisops elegans , Ophisaurus apodus and Coluber caspius .
economy
Most of the approximately 200 permanent residents in the port of the same name mainly live from fishing. Chickens and goats are kept for self-sufficiency and a few larger farmers farm with livestock ( sheep and cows ). The acorns of the Valonea oak were collected until the 1960s.
The tourism plays on the regular ferries from Limnos out to reach the island so far hardly matters. It has beautiful beaches, but they are often polluted with plastic waste or sheep carcasses.
Popular culture
The island served as a template for the fictional island "Stratis" in the 2013 computer game ArmA 3 .
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Results of the 2011 census, Greek Statistical Office (ΕΛ.ΣΤΑΤ) ( Memento from June 27, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) (Excel document, 2.6 MB)
- ↑ Ελληνική Στατιστική Αρχή [ΕΛΣΤΑΤ] (Ed.): Στατιστική Επετηρίδα της Ελλάδος (Statistical Yearbook of Greece) 2009 & 2010 . Piraeus 2011, p. 47 .
- ↑ Ιστορία - Γεωγραφία . agios-efstratios.gov.gr. Archived from the original on February 1, 2014. Retrieved January 21, 2014.
- ↑ a b 213 Limnos / Agios Efstratios, 1: 50,000 (map) . Road Editions, ISBN 960-8481-93-7 .
- ↑ Information from the USGS about the earthquake of Agios Efstratios on February 19, 1968, English Today in Earthquake History February 19 . Archived from the original on October 15, 2008. Retrieved on August 20, 2010.
- ↑ Nalbant et al: Stress coupling in the Aegean Region (PDF, p. 15, English) Retrieved on August 20, 2010.
- ↑ Plague of locusts overruns Greek isle of Agios Efstratios. BBC News, May 19, 2017, accessed February 7, 2020 .
- ↑ Population of Agios Efstratios 1920–2001, Greek Statistical Office ELSTAT, Digital Library (Greek)
- ↑ http://www.arte.tv/de/geschichte-gesellschaft/Gesichter-Europas/Programm/1687018.html (link not available)
- ↑ Α. Λεγάκις, Π. Μαραγκού: Το Κόκκινο Βιβλίο των Απειλούμενων Ζώων της Ελλάδας (Red List of Endangered Animals in Greece) . Ed .: Ελληνική Ζωολογική Εταιρεία, Υπουργείο Περιβάλλοντος, Ενέργειας και Κλλιματικής Αλλαγής. Athens 2009, ISBN 978-960-85298-8-5 , θηλαστικά (mammals), p. 528 .
- ↑ Monachus monachus in the endangered Red List species the IUCN 2010. Retrieved on 3 November of 2010.
- ↑ ypeka.gr (PDF) GR4110014 Νήσος Άγιος Ευστράτιος και θαλάσσια ζώνη Minister for Environment, Energy and Climate Change (Greek)
- ↑ P. Kasapidis, S. Provatidou, P. Maragou, ED Valakos: New data on the herpetofauna of Lesbos (Aegean Islands, Greece) and some biogeographical remarks on the islands of the northeastern Aegean archipelago . In: Salamandra . Rheinbach 1996, p. 171-180 .