Stypsi or Stipsi, is a village of the municipality of
West Lesbos in
Greece, which belongs to the
Lesbos Prefecture and has a population of 675 permanent residents (as of 2021).
Name
The name of the village originates from the Greek word, ' (''στύψη'', or ''στυπτηρία''), the original chemical name of the mineral,
potassium alum, the known, double
sulfate of
potassium and
aluminium, which has the chemical formula, KAl(SO
4)
2.•12H
2O.
''Stypsi'' or ''stipsi'', was found abundant in the soils of the surrounding areas of Stipsi. Especially during the Roman period, in which potassium alum was produced in large quantities for the
Roman Empire.
This mineral was known to be utilised for the
tanning of leathers and also used in paints. Mining of potassium alum was taken place until the 1970s.
Description
Stypsi is a village situated at 400 m elevation, in the north part of Lesbos island, in the mountain of Lepetymnos. It is approximately 7 km away from
Petra
Petra ( ar, ٱلْبَتْرَاء, Al-Batrāʾ; grc, Πέτρα, "Rock", Nabataean Aramaic, Nabataean: ), originally known to its inhabitants as Raqmu or Raqēmō, is an historic and archaeological city in southern Jordan. It is adjacent to t ...
.
The permanent residents do jobs related to
animal husbandry
Animal husbandry is the branch of agriculture concerned with animals that are raised for meat, fibre, milk, or other products. It includes day-to-day care, selective breeding, and the raising of livestock. Husbandry has a long history, starti ...
, farming of
olea, and the production of olive oil. A part of the employment is working in the tourist sector of the island, especially during the months of March to November. There are also experienced construction, roofing and wooden construction craftsmen, as well as traditional craftsmen such as
stone carvers.
Stipsi is also known for its own, ''Olive Oil Cooperative of Stipsi'', which has one of the most modern olive mills in
Lesbos and produces high quality olive oil, standardized for the domestic and foreign markets.
Since the 2000's, the Women's Agrotouristic and Agrotechnical Cooperative (of Stipsi - Ypsilometopon) has also been operating, and its main products being traditional sweets, pasta and also, hand-made embroidery.
The Karavangelis Sports Association, founded in 1978, is also based in Stipsi. This association took its name from the Greek hero,
Germanos Karavangelis, who left funding for this in his will. Karavangelis was born in 1866 and grew up in Stipsi. He was known for his service as Metropolitan Bishop of
Kastoria and later
Amaseia,
Pontus and served as a member of the
Hellenic Macedonian Committee, one of the major coordinators of the
Greek Struggle for Macedonia.
The village has two old and beautiful stone-made churches, the Dormition of the Virgin, "Panagia" (built in 1805), and the Holy Trinity, "Agia Triada" (built in 1924).
References
External links
Village website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stipsi
Lesbos