Kyra Panagia
Template: Infobox Island / Maintenance / image missing
Kyra Panagia (Greek Κυρά Παναγία (n. sg. ) ) Is a Greek island in the Northern Sporades. Administratively, the island belongs to the municipality of Alonissos in the Sporades Regional District of Thessaly region. The island's name comes from the same late Byzantine monastery on the east coast.
Location
The island is located about 8 km northeast of Alonissos. The also uninhabited island Yioura located 5 km northeast. In between lie the islands Pappous, Strongylo and Prasso.
Characteristic of the northeastern islands of the Northern Sporades are wild, rocky coasts, and the beaches are rocky. Only has the shoreline of two safe natural harbors on the Kyra Panagia is gravelly sandy to. The Bay of Planitis ( Όρμος Πλανήτης ) in the north, and the bay of Agios Petros ( Όρμος του Αγίου Πέτρου ) with the eponymous island in the southwest. Before the entrance to the bay Planitis lies on the western side of the small island Sfika ( Σφήκα ). The entrance to the bay is just over one km away, and tapers towards the closest point to less than 100 m. After that widens the bay and is divided into two larger bays. The bay of Agios Petros is the island Pelerissa ( Πελέρισσα ) also Fagkrou ( Φαγκρού ), called upstream.
The island has a hilly character. The highest elevations are in the North West with 287 m and 302 m in the east with.
History
As early as the Neolithic Age in the 6th millennium BC Kyra Panagia was settled. A continuous settlement to antiquity is likely. Ancient ruins could be found on the small island Melissa in the Bay of Agios Petros, west of the bay of Agios Petros in the island was discovered Pelerissa BC an ancient ship from the 5th century. The ship was carrying 1,500 amphorae from the ancient city of Mende of the Kassandra peninsula. In antiquity, the island was known under the name Alonissos and was in the 5th century BC Athens. 351 BC took over Sostratus from Peparithos (today Skopelos ) the island and made it to his seat, the island changed from Philip of Macedon, who had 346 BC Sostratus chased away again in Athens possession.
Athanassios Athonitis acquired the island 963 AD by a Byzantine nobleman Konstantin Opel to Mount Athos, to secure the supply of food such as meat, honey, oil and wheat. Especially the goat farming was of great importance. Since the attitude of female animals on Mount Athos is not allowed, Kyra Panagia was that has some sources, leased to goatherds. Around 1100 AD, the monastery of Kyra Panagia was on the east side of the island, above a small natural harbor built. For protection from pirate attacks, it was created like a small fortress. The buildings were extensively renovated in 1992. To this day, the island is owned by the Athos monastery Great Lavra.
The 1961 census indicated 69 inhabitants, 2001 or 10 In fact, since 1984 only lives a monk on the island.
Nature
From the time of the former monastic community still exist numerous olive trees, which are just like the formerly agricultural land now overgrown. The predominant vegetation of the islands are the typical representatives of the maquis as Wild Pistachio ( Pistacia lentiscus ), Western Strawberry Tree (Arbutus unedo ) and a predominant proportion of Kermes oak (Quercus coccifera ) dar. also exist in the northeast also smaller areas with the plant communities of the Phrygana and south Aleppo pines.
The rocky coast is an ideal retreat for the Mediterranean monk seal.
Conservation
Kyra Panagia is located in the Natura 2000 site GR 1430004 National Marine Park of Alonissos ( Εθνικό Θαλάσσιο Πάρκο Αλοννήσου - Βορείων Σποράδων, Ανατολική Σκόπελος ) in the zone A4.