Pothia or Pothaia or Kalymnos Town (''
Greek
Greek may refer to:
Greece
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group.
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family.
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
: Πόθια ή Ποθαία'') is the capital of
Kalymnos
Kalymnos ( el, Κάλυμνος) is a Greek island and municipality in the southeastern Aegean Sea. It belongs to the Dodecanese island chain, between the islands of Kos (south, at a distance of ) and Leros (north, at a distance of less than ): t ...
and the major settlement of the island. It is located in the south of Kalymnos in the edge of a bay. It is very close to
Chorio or Chora, the old capital of Kalymnos. Pothia is the main port and includes the main public services of the island. Its population is 12,324 inhabitants according to 2011 census.
History
Pothia was built in 1850 when the pirates' raids decreased allowing the inhabitants to move near the sea.
Its population increased rapidly. During the Italian rule many Venetian type houses were built.
Places of interest
Near Chora there is the Pera Castle or Castle of Chrisocheria. Built by
Knights Hospitaller
The Order of Knights of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem ( la, Ordo Fratrum Hospitalis Sancti Ioannis Hierosolymitani), commonly known as the Knights Hospitaller (), was a medieval and early modern Catholic Church, Catholic Military ord ...
, it is one of the most famous sights of the island. Pothia has got two museums. The first is the Archaeological Museum of Kalymnos
with collections from archaeological sites of the island and the second is the naval museum related with the sponge fishing and the naval tradition of the island. Other places of interest in the island are the Cathedral of the Transfiguration of Jesus Christ. The temple, built in the 19th century, has got magnificent marble sculpture by the notable Greek sculptor
Giannoulis Chalepas
Yannoulis Chalepas ( el, Γιαννούλης Χαλεπάς, August 14, 1851 – September 15, 1938) was a Greek sculptor and a significant figure of Modern Greek art.
Life
Chalepas was born in Pyrgos, on the island of Tinos in 1851, from a fam ...
.
References
{{reflist
External links
Municipality of Kalymnos, Settlements
Kalymnos