Listed 2 sub titles with search on: Sights for destination: "SKIATHOS Small town NORTH SPORADES".
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 inhabitans - both Skiathans 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 faboulous summer theatre which
hosts successful theatrical and musical performances every summer. Moreover, in
Bourtzi there is a municipal cafe where special nights are held. These fit in
with the ambience of the small, full of green peninsula.
This text is cited Sep 2002 from the Municipality of Skiathos URL below, which contains images.
The house where Alexandros Papadiamantis was born on 4th March 1851
does not exist today. It was sold and the new owners put 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. It
has two levels with the upper floor (anogi) and the lower floor (katogi). The
lower floor is made up of three rooms and a small oblong entrance which leads
to these three rooms. On the left, as we enter, there is the winter room with
its historical fireplace. This is where Papadiamantis lived his last moments.
On the fireplace there were two shelves where all the cups of the house were.
The smallest room on the right was in the begining 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 was absolutely
like 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.
This text is cited Sep 2002 from the Municipality of Skiathos URL below, which contains images.
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