Skiathos (town)

Skiathos is the main town of the island of Skiathos in the Sporades island group of the Aegean Sea, within the Thessaly region of Greece. The town holds a school, churches, banks, a post office and a square, and its port serves local boats and ferries connecting to nearby islands and the mainland. Xerxes's fleet was damaged off its coast during the Persian Wars in 480 BC, and the town grew into a shipbuilding center in the 19th century using the island's pine forests. Greece's first flag is said to have been raised there in 1807 during the independence movement, and after 1964 the town developed into a tourist destination with an airport and coastal resorts. The 2021 census recorded 4,897 residents.