This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (February 2011)

Zakynthos Περιφερειακή ενότητα / Δήμος Ζακύνθου
—  Regional unit  —
View of Zakynthos City
Flag
Zakynthos within Greece
Coordinates: 37°48′N 20°45′E / 37.8°N 20.75°E / 37.8; 20.75Coordinates: 37°48′N 20°45′E / 37.8°N 20.75°E / 37.8; 20.75
Country	Greece
Region	Ionian Islands
Capital	Zakynthos (city)
Government
• Vice Governor	Dionysis Mylonas
• Mayor	Stylianos Bozikis
Area
• Total	407.58 km2 (157.37 sq mi)
Population (2001)
• Total	38,957
• Density	96/km2 (250/sq mi)
Postal codes	29x xx
Area codes	2695
Car plates	ΖΑ
Website	www.zakynthion.gov.gr

Zakynthos [ˈzakinθos] ( listen), also Zante, the other form often used in English and in Italian (Greek: Ζάκυνθος; Venetian: Zacinto), is a Greek island in the Ionian Sea. It is the third largest of the Ionian Islands. Zakynthos is a separate regional unit of the Ionian Islands region, and its only municipality. It covers an area of 410 km² (158 sq mi) and its coastline is roughly 123 km (76 mi) in length. The island is named after Zakynthos, the son of a legendary Arcadian chief Dardanus. The name, like all similar names ending in -nthos, is pre-Mycenaean or Pelasgian in origin. Zakynthos has a thriving tourism industry.

History[link]

Flag of Zakynthos, displaying an ancient depiction of the founding hero Zákynthos. The quote underneath reads: "Freedom requires virtue and bravery", a famous verse by 19th century Zakynthian poet Andreas Kalvos.

Zakynthos was inhabited from the Neolithic Age, as some archaeological excavations have proved.

The famous ancient Greek poet and writer, Homer, first mentioned the island in his masterpieces, the Iliad and the Odyssey, stating that the first inhabitants of it were the son of King Dardanos of Troy called Zakynthos and his men and that they first came on the island around 1500–1600 BC^{[citation needed]}.

The island was then conquered by the Great Imperial King Arkeisios of Kefalonia. The famous Ulysses (Odysseus in Greek) from Ithaca was the next King to conquer the island.

Later on, a treaty was signed that made Zakynthos an independent democracy, the first established in the Hell area, and that lasted more than 650 years.

The Athenian military commander Tolmides concluded an alliance with Zacynthus during the First Peloponnesian War sometime between 459 and 446 BC.^[1][2] The importance of this alliance for Athens was that it provided them with a source of tar. Tar is a more effective protector of ship planking than pitch (which is made from pine trees). The Athenian trireme fleet needed protection from rot, decay and the teredo so this new source of tar was valuable to them. The tar was dredged up from the bottom of a lake using leafy myrtle branches tied to the ends of poles. It was then collected in pots and could be carried to the beach and swabbed directly onto ship hulls.^[3] Alternatively, the tar could be shipped to the Athenian naval yard at the Piraeus for storage.^[4]

Napolitan and Venetian rule[link]

During the Middle Ages, the island was part of the Byzantine theme of Cephallenia. After 1185 it became part of the County palatine of Cephalonia and Zakynthos under the Kingdom of Naples until its last Count Leonardo III Tocco was defeated by the Ottomans in 1479. The Turkish rule lasted only until 22 April 1484, when it was swapped with the Turks by Venetian secretary Giovanni Dario, negotiator of the treaty of Constantinople (1479), against neighboring Cephalonia and an annual tribute of 500 ducats.^[5][6] From then on Zakynthos remained an overseas colony of the Venetian Republic until its very end in 1797, following the fate of the Ionian islands, completed by the capture of Cephalonia in 1500 and Lefkas in 1684 from the Turks.

Venetian rule protected the island from Ottoman domination but in its place it put a feudal oligarchy. The cultural influence of Venice (and of Venetian on local dialect) was considerable. The wealthy made a habit of sending their sons to Italy to be educated. Good examples are Dionysios Solomos, a native of Zakynthos and Greece's national poet, and Ugo Foscolo, also native of Zakynthos and a national Italian poet. However, both the Greek language and Orthodox faith survived intact. From the 16th to the 18th centuries, it was one of the largest exporters of currants in the world together with Cephalonia.

French, Ionian state period and British Rule[link]

The Treaty of Campoformio dismantling the Venetian Republic awarded the Ionian Islands to France. General Antoine Gentili, leading a French expeditionary force with boats captured in Venice, took control of the islands on 26 June 1797. From 1797 to 1798, the island was part of the French départment Mer-Égée. A Russian-Turkish fleet captured the island on 23 October 1798. From 1800 to 1807, it was part of the Septinsular Republic, nominally under sovereignty of the Ottoman Empire but protected by Russia. In 1800–1801, Britain attempted to take control of the Ionian islands from Zakynthos after a revolt, under the leadership of James Callander Campbell^[7] but these intentions stopped after the Peace of Amiens.^[8][9][10] After a second period under French control (1807–1809) following the treaty of Tilsit, it was conquered by Great-Britain on 16 October 1809 and was part of the British protectorate of the United States of the Ionian Islands from 1815 to 1864.

Union with Greece[link]

In 1864, Zakynthos, together with all the other Ionian Islands, became a full member of the Greek state, ceded by Britain to stabilize the rule of the newly crowned Danish-born King of the Hellenes, George I.

During World War II[link]

The Cathedral (Saint Dionysios) of the city of Zakynthos.

During the Nazi occupation of Greece, Mayor Karrer and Bishop Chrysostomos refused Nazi orders to turn in a list of the members of the town's Jewish community for deportation to the death camps. Instead they secreted the town's 275 Jews in rural villages. All survived the war. But as punishment the Nazis took all the children to work at camps but not to be killed. When they had loaded up the kids they drove away but the truck stopped because of sheep crossing the road. 1–2 jumped out and escaped the Nazis. Statues of the Bishop and the Mayor commemorate their heroism on the site of the town's historic synagogue, destroyed in the earthquake of 1953. In 1978, Yad Vashem, the Holocaust Martyrs' and Heroes' Remembrance Authority in Israel, honored Bishop Chrysostomos and Mayor Loukas Karrer with the title of "Righteous among the Nations", an honor given to non-Jews who, at personal risk, saved Jews during the Holocaust. After the war, all of the Jews of Zakynthos moved either to Israel or to Athens.^[11][12]

The Great Earthquake of 1953[link]

This "paradise on earth" suffered a series of four severe earthquakes in August 1953, resulting in the total destruction of the island's infrastructure, including most of its state archives. The third and most destructive of those quakes, registering 7.3 on the Richter Scale, occurred at 09:24 UTC (11:24 am local time) on 12 August 1953. It had its epicentre directly on the southern tip of the nearby island of Kefalonia and caused widespread destruction there as well. In addition, the quake was felt throughout most of the country. Only three buildings on Zakynthos were left standing after the disaster: the St. Dionysios Cathedral, the National Bank building and the church of St. Nicholas "tou Molou" (of the Quay). A few other buildings in outlying areas managed to avoid complete collapse.

The rebuilding of the island was subject to a very rigid anti-seismic code, and has thus withstood several moderate and powerful subsequent earthquakes at a very small amount of damage.

After the quake[link]

Panorama of Zakynthos city.

Zakynthos city, Agios Dionysos Church.

After the enormous earthquake, the island's roads were expanded and paved along with the GR-35, one of the roads linking with the town and Porto Roma along with Laganas, Keri and Volimes and from Lachans to Keri. Its airport was opened in the 1960s. Its population partly emigrated but subsequently boomed in later years.

Mining is also common on the island. A small mountain located in Zakynthos' west side was mined during the 1990s, though it is no longer in use. Today, mining continues, but with two quarries on the mountain range on the western part of the island. Tourism continues to thrive and Zakynthos is currently one of the most popular tourist destinations in Greece.

A few earthquakes rumbled later in the 2000s (decade), one on Sunday 8 June 2008 at 6.4 R, felt without any damages or injuries. Another but less trembling four months later occurred on Saturday 11 October and measured at 4 R also nearly causing no damages.

The April 2006 earthquake swarm[link]

Starting in the early morning hours of 4 April 2006, a series of moderate to strong earthquakes occurring on an almost daily basis began shaking almost the entire island. On 11 April, however, the phenomenon intensified in both magnitude and rate of events. At 03:02 local time of that day, a powerful, magnitude 5.7 earthquake hit the area, only to be followed by an even stronger tremor, registering at 5.9 on the Richter Scale, at 8:30 p.m. (20:30) EET. On 12 April, a committee of the nation's most prominent seismologists had an emergency meeting with the Greek Ministry of Environment, Physical Planning and Public Works, in order to assess the emerging situation. The meeting ended in a scientific consensus that this specific area of the Ionian Sea was simply not ready to produce an even stronger quake, advising the nervous citizens of the island to remain calm. However, at 19:52 and at 19:56 local time of that same evening, two more earthquakes shook the region sending scores of terrified people into the streets. The earthquakes had a preliminary moment magnitude of 5.8 and 5.4 respectively. Seismologists at the Athens Seismological Institute were once again taken by surprise by what turned into an unprecedented riddle concerning whether or not these were in fact foreshocks of a major event. The chances are, nonetheless, that this was just a phenomenon known as earthquake swarm, characterized by a pattern of a considerable amount of magnitude-wise similar tremors, all occurring within a limited number of days or weeks. As a result of the recurring jolts, moderate damage was reported to a total of sixty residencies and one library, while a small crack appeared on the eastern part of the capital's port. In addition, several rocks tumbled down onto one of the island's main roads, running through its mountainous areas.

The Ionian Islands are situated upon one of Europe's most notorious faults, capable of producing earthquakes potentially causing both widespread damage and considerable loss of life. However it should be stressed that, following the catastrophe of 1953, the authorities of Zakynthos have enforced a strict program of antiseismic standards (the same applies to the rest of Greece) to be applied in every building to be constructed. All buildings have been built on a swimming slab and enforced with steel, determined by the government to ensure safety. As a result, an earthquake similar to that of 12 August 1953, will almost certainly result in far less destruction.

After the quake and the Wildfires of 2006[link]

On Thursday 18 July 2006, the western portion of the island was hit by a forest fire. The fire spread to the island's forest and ended up spreading by hectares. Firefighters along with helicopters and planes from the mainland arrived to fight the fire's expansion and further deforestation. The fire lasted for several days and on 20 July, much of the area was contained; though it had become unpopular and unattractive scenery. One of the conflagrations appeared as a fiery line visible from as far away as the southern portion of the island and the Ionian Sea.

Geography[link]

Three-dimensional view of Zakynthos relief

Agios Sostis island.

Zakynthos lies in the eastern part of the Ionian sea, around 20 km west of the Greek (Peloponnese) mainland. Island of Kefalonia lies 15 km on the north. Zakynthos is about 40 km long and 20 km wide, and covers an area of 410 km² (158 sq mi). Its coastline is approximately 123 km (76 mi) long. According to the 2001 census, the island has a population of 38,957. The highest point is Vrachionas, at 758 m.

Zakynthos has the shape of an arrowhead, with the "tip" (Cape Skinari) pointing northwest. Western half is a mountainous plateau, and the southwest coast consists mostly of steep cliffs. Eastern half is a densely populated fertile plain, with long sandy beaches, interrupted with several isolated hills, notably Bochali, overlooking the city, and the peninsula of Vasilikos in the northeast. Peninsulas of Vassilikos on north and Marathia on south enclose wide and shallow bay of Laganas on the southeast part of the island.

The capital, which has the same name as the prefecture, is the town of Zakynthos. It lies on the eastern part of the northern coast. Apart from the official name, it is also called Chora (i.e. the Town, a common denomination in Greece when the name of the island itself is the same as the name of the principal town). The port of Zakynthos has a ferry connecting to the port of Kyllini on the mainland. Another ferry connects the village of Agios Nikolaos to Argostoli on Kefalonia.

Minor uninhabited islands around Zakynthos, included in the municipality and regional unit, are Marathonisi, Pelouzo and Agios Sostis in the Laganas bay, Agios Nikolaos, near the eponymous harbor on the northern tip, and Agios Ioannis, near Porto Vromi on the western coast.

Flora and fauna[link]

The mild, Mediterranean climate and the plentiful winter rainfall endow the island with dense vegetation. The principal products are olive oil, currants, grapes and citrus fruit. The Zante currant, a small sweet seedless grape, is native to the island.

Bay of Laganas is the site of the first National Marine Park and the prime nesting area for loggerhead sea turtles (Caretta caretta) in the Mediterranean. In the early 1980s, the Bay of Laganos was seriously threatened as a nesting habitat, but thanks to the efforts of MEDASSET founder and president Lily Venizelos it could be preserved. Caretta caretta is an endangered species – especially by the deck chairs laid out on their breeding grounds and the inevitable pollution. Every year at the beginning of June, the female turtles come to the southern beaches in order to bury their eggs in the sand.^[13] The incubation period for the nest is approximately fifty-five days, after which time hatchlings emerge from the nest and make their way to the sea. The survival rate for hatchlings is very small, and it is estimated that only one in one thousand hatchlings that enter the sea lives to adulthood. Each nest contains around one hundred to one hundred and twenty eggs, each of which are around the size and shape of a ping-pong ball. Female turtles begin to lay nests at around twenty to thirty years of age.

Navagio (shipwreck) bay

Sights[link]

The most famous landmark of the island is the Navagio beach. It is a cove on the southwest shore, isolated by high cliffs and accessible only by boats. The beach and sea floor are made of white pebbles, and surrounded by turquoise waters. It is named after a shipwreck (MV Panagiotis) which sunk on the shore around 1980. The ridge area from Anafonitria has a small observation deck which overlooks the shipwreck and there is a monastery nearby.

Numerous "Blue Caves", are cut into cliffs around Cape Skinari, and accessible only by small boats. Sunrays reflect through blue sea water from white stones of cave bottoms and walls, creating interesting effects.^[14] Keri is located in the far south of the island. It is a mountain village and has a lighthouse in the south. It includes a panorama of the southern part of the Ionian Sea. The whole western shore, from Keri to Skinari, contains numerous interesting rock formations, particularly arches.^[15]

Northern and eastern shores contain numerous wide sandy beaches, many of which are packed with tourists in summer months. The largest resort is Laganas, whose beach stretches around 10 km. Small Xigia beach in the north is noted for its underwater springs rich in sulphur, which gives it a characteristic odour.^[15]

Bochali hill above the Zakynthos town contains a small venetian castle, and offers panoramic views onto the town. Strani's hill, located on the other side of Bochali, is the place where Dionysios Solomos, called "Our National Poet" by the Greeks, wrote Greece's national anthem.

Marathonissi (also known as "Turtle Island" because of its turtle-like shape), an islet near Limni Keriou (the beach of village Keri; also known as Keri Lake) is a small paradise, with tropical vegetation, turquoise water beaches and sea caves.

Cliffs and stone arches at cape Marathia

Administration[link]

Zakynthos is a separate regional unit of the Ionian Islands region, and the only municipality of the regional unit. The seat of administration is Zakynthos (city), the main town of the island.

Prefecture[link]

As a part of the 2011 Kallikratis government reform, the regional unit Zakynthos was created out of the former prefecture Zakynthos (Greek: Νομός Ζακύνθου). The prefecture had the same territory as the present regional unit. At the same reform, the current municipality Zakynthos was created out of the 6 former municipalities:^[16]

• Zakynthos (city)
• Alykes
• Arkadioi
• Artemisia
• Elatia
• Laganas

Population and demographics[link]

• 1900: 42,000
• 1981: 30,011
• 1991: 32,556 (island), 13,000 (city)
• 2001: 38,596
• 2011: 40,650

In 2006, there were 507 births and 407 deaths.^[17] Zakynthos is one of the regions with highest population growth in Greece. It is also one of the only 3 prefectures (Out of 54) in which rural population has a positive growth rate. In fact, rural population's growth rate is higher than that of the urban population in Zakynthos. Out of the 507 births, 141 were in urban areas and 366 were in rural areas. Out of the 407 deaths, 124 were in urban areas and 283 were in rural areas.

Population of Zakynthos suffers of exceptionally high rate of blindness of about 1,8% of the whole island's population, which is about 9 times more than was the average in Europe in 2004 according to WHO. In April 2012 Greek Ministry of Health and Social Solidarity launched investigation of the disability benefits for the blind.^[18]

Culture[link]

The island has a long musical tradition. It was a precursor of opera and operetta in Greece and on the island it constituted links between nobles and the rest of the people. In 1815 it saw the establishment of the first Music School in Greece. During the first Olympic Games, in Athens 1896, the Music Band of Zakynthos took part in the event. It was the period when composers of Zantiote origin, such as Domeneginis Kapnissis enjoyed some fame in Europe. Since 2009 Zakynthos has its own jazz festival (Zante Jazz Festival). Clubbing has become a huge part of the culture, bringing in a lot of money in the summer months.

Museums[link]

There are two museums located in Zakynthos Town: The Byzantine Museum of Zakynthos, featuring renaissance paintings, Byzantine icons and more; also the Museum of Solomos and Eminent People of Zakynthos hosting the mausoleum of Dionysios Solomos, Andreas Kalvos as well as works by many eminent Zakynthians.

Sport[link]

The island offers exceptional attractions for SCUBA divers. Many of the dive sites are cave dives around the island; a wide range of marine life can be found, and common amongst it are moray eels, monk seals, octopus, and loggerhead turtles (caretta caretta).

Transportation[link]

Zakynthos Airport

Greek National Road 35, a road linking Zante and Porto Roma; and another road linking Zante and Volimes. The island has one airport, the Zakynthos International Airport, "Dionysios Solomos" (on former GR-35) in its southwest which connects flights with other Greek airports. It is 4.3 km from Zakynthos town. Zakynthos also features two ports: the main port located in Zakynthos Town and another one in the village of Aghios Nikolaos Volimon. From the main port there is a connection to the port of Kyllini, which is the usual route to arrive to the island from the mainland. From the port of Aghios Nikolaos Volimon there is a connection to the island of Kefalonia (port of Pesada).

Science[link]

Since 2003 Zakynthos posses two academic departments belonging to the Technological Educational Institute of Ionian Islands. The first department established in the island is the department of Environmental Technology and Ecology, where environmental technologies, atmospheric physics and chemistry, climate dynamics, renewable energy sources, environmental management, biodiversity and ecosystems dynamics are developed on the basis of natural sciences and mechanics. The department's sections have developed a lot of laboratory and field stations infrastructure along Zakynthos and the Strofades islets. The second department is that of Protection and Conservation of Cultural Heritage. Zakynthos is a beautiful and green island in the Ionian Sea but the freshwater resources are limited.Therefore is a Greek-Norwegian educational collaboration being established on the island: The Science Park Zakynthos is collaboration between Technological Educational Institute of Ionian Islands (TEI), The Norwegian University of Life Sciences (UMB) and the Therianos Villas and Therianos Family Farm on Zakynthos.

Notable people[link]

Statue of Dionysios Solomos in Zakynthos

Among the most famous Zakynthians is the 19th century poet Dionysios Solomos, the principal modern Greek poet and author of the national anthem of Greece. His statue adorns the main town square. Also the explorer Juan de Fuca (Ioannis Focas) and the Italian poet Ugo Foscolo were born here.

• Saint Dionysios of Zakynthos (c. 16th century)
• Nikolaos Koutouzis (1741–1813), painter
• Ugo Foscolo (1778–1827), Italian poet and writer
• Andreas Kalvos (1789–1869), poet
• Dionysios Solomos (1798–1857), poet and creator of the Greek national anthem
• Pavlos Carrer (1829–1896), composer
• Leonidas Zois (1865–1956), historian
• Gregorios Xenopoulos (1867–1951), writer-journalist
• George Costakis (1913–1990), art collector
• Kostas Dikefalos (born 1956), sculptor
• Demetrios Kaparis (born 1935), naval architect/engineer
• Dionysios Vertzagias (born 1970), school professor and preserver of Zakynthian culture

References[link]

See also[link]

• List of settlements in Zakynthos

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Zakynthos

• Science Park Zakynthos – Greek-Norwegian educational and research collaboration on Zakynthos
• Zakynthos Map
• [1] - The rescue of the Jews of Zakyntos during WW2.

v t e Administrative division of the Ionian Islands Region Area: 2,307 km² • Population : 212,984 (2001) • Capital: Corfu Regional unit of Corfu Corfu • Paxoi Regional unit of Ithaca Ithaca Regional unit of Cephalonia Cephalonia Regional unit of Lefkada Lefkada • Meganisi Regional unit of Zakynthos Zakynthos Regional governor: Spyros Spyrou • Website: www.pin.gov.gr