Loutra is a traditional seaside settlement and a port in

Kythnos Kythnos ( el, Κύθνος), commonly called Thermia ( el, Θερμιά), is a Greek island and municipality in the Western Cyclades between Kea and Serifos. It is from the Athenian harbor of Piraeus. The municipality Kythnos is in area and has a ...

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...

. It is located on the NE part of the island, 5km away from

Chora Chora may refer to: Places Greece ''Chora'' (meaning "Town" in Greek), is often used as the name of the main town on an island, following the common practice in Greece when the name of the island itself is the same as the name of the principal ...

, and 11km from the port of Merihas. Loutra is home to 81 people (according to the

2011 Greek census The 2011 Population and Housing Census ( el, Απογραφή Πληθυσμού-Kατοικιών 2011), branded as ( el, Γενικές Απογραφές 2011), was a population census in Greece conducted by the Hellenic Statistical Authority o ...

). The main occupations of the residents are tourism-related services and fishing. The region of Loutra is mainly known for its hot springs and the 19th c. spa building and its Xenia Hotel. Loutra used to be the main port of the island before the emergence of Merichas. It is also close to the archaeological site of Maroulas.

Etymology

The village of Loutra (the ''Baths'') owes its name to the thermal baths located on the hot springs which were known since the

Roman period The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post-Roman Republic, Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings aro ...

History

Near Loutra is the archaeological site of Maroulas, which includes finds from the Mesolithic period. The area of Loutra has been inhabited since ancient times due to the presence of drinking water and the natural harbour. Since then, Loutra has been known for its thermal springs. Although the springs had been used since ancient times, the first facilities for exploiting the thermal springs (of Agioi Anargyroi and Kakavos) were built in 1782 during the Ottoman occupation by the dragoman (interpreter) of the Ottoman fleet, Nikolaos Mavrogenis. Then the therapeutic properties of the springs were discovered and following a recommendation from the medical school to modernize the facilities, the construction of the thermal baths complex began. According to the locals, until that point, the inhabitants of modern times used the springs only for treading and for washing blankets and carpets. The original spa building was completed in 1857 following designs by the architect Christian Hansen and his assistant Laurent, who was in charge of the execution. A few years later, the adjacent tile-roofed neoclassical building was built following designs by Ernest Ziller. The port of Loutra was where the ore from Mount Kakovos was loaded. Loutra first received electricity in 1932 thanks to a donation from the Kanellopoulos family. In May 1941, during the Axis occupation of Greece, Italian troops landed in Loutra. Loutra started to develop in the 1980s. The village now has a marina and a fishing shelter for fishermen.

Population

According to the 1991 Greek census, Loutra had 142 permanent residents. In 2001, the population had dropped to 63 and by 2011, the population had increased to 81 permanent residents who are engaged in tourism and fishing.

Water elements

The rocks in the area are generally permeable. Use is made of permeable septic tanks which results in pollution of the water table. Borehole drilling in Loutra demonstrates that the water is potable within acceptable limits, unlike most other areas of

where it is not.

Thermal springs

Loutra has two

thermal springs A hot spring, hydrothermal spring, or geothermal spring is a spring produced by the emergence of geothermally heated groundwater onto the surface of the Earth. The groundwater is heated either by shallow bodies of magma (molten rock) or by circ ...

of volcanic origin: Agioi Anargyroi thermal spring (flows into the hydrotherapy center): ● more than 15 000 mg of dissolved solids per liter of water, mainly chlorine and sodium ● water temperature of 38° Celsius ● moderately radioactive with a concentration of 25 Mach Kakkavos thermal spring (50 meters from the spring of AgioiAnargyroi, flows directly to the sea): ● ferruginous alkaline spring with sodium iodide, bromide and chloride ● water temperature of 52 °C ● weakly radioactive with a concentration of 4,1 Mach

Archaeological excavations

During excavations, ancient circular dwellings, tombs and a human skeleton were discovered, as well as stone tools made of flint, quartz and obsidian.{{Cite web , title=ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITES , url=https://www.kythnos.gr/en/archaeological-sites/ , access-date=2022-06-21 , website=Κύθνος , language=en-US

Gallery

File:Ανατολή Λουτρά Kythnos.jpg, alt=, Sunrise in Loutra File:Ψαράδικο σκάφος στα Λουτρά Κύθνου.jpg, alt=, Fishers in Loutra File:Σκάλα μεταλλείων Λουτρά.jpg, alt=, Old metal platform File:Τα ζεστά νερά της ιαματικής πηγής Kythnos.jpg, alt=, Water from the hot spring File:Healing Water Source.jpg, alt=, Healing Water Source Facility File:Loutra on Kythnos, spa houses of different times, 190192.jpg, alt=, Spa houses

References

Bibliography

* Filippaiou, Kalliopi G. (2014).
Υδατικοί πόροι με έμφαση στα υπόγεια νερά νήσου Κύθνου
�. National Technical University of Athens. doi:10.26240/HEAL.NTUA.3900. * Freely, John (2006). ''The Cyclades. Discovering the Greek Islands of the Aegean''. London: I.B.Tauris & Co. Ltd. * Hiliadakis, Stelios, ''Κύθνος'', Εκδόσεις Μαθιουδάκη. * Kokiasmenou, Eleni (2014).
Διαχείριση υδατικών πόρων της Νήσου Κύθνου - διπλωματική εργασία - Ιδρυματικό Αποθετήριο
�. dias.library.tuc.gr. Technical University of Crete * Veloudaki, Chrysanthi Anna (2020).
Oria Kastro, an insular medieval settlement and fortress on Kythnos: an architectural, archaeological, and historical investigation
'. The University of Edinburgh-Thesis. * ''Οι Κύθνιοι στα χρόνια της Κατοχής 1941-1944'' (1995). * ''100 Χρόνια Συνδέσμου Κυθνίων 1901-2001'' (2011). Populated places in Kea-Kythnos Kythnos