Oinousses ( el, Οινούσσες, alternative forms: ''Aignousa'' (Αιγνούσα) or ''Egnousa'' (Εγνούσα)) is a barren cluster of 1 larger and 8 smaller islands some off the north-east coast of the

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 ...

island of

Chios Chios (; el, Χίος, Chíos , traditionally known as Scio in English) is the fifth largest Greek island, situated in the northern Aegean Sea. The island is separated from Turkey by the Chios Strait. Chios is notable for its exports of masti ...

and west of

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...

. Administratively the islands form a municipality within the Chios regional unit, which is part of the

North Aegean The North Aegean Region ( el, Περιφέρεια Βορείου Αιγαίου, translit=Periféria Voríou Eyéou, ) is one of the thirteen administrative regions of Greece, and the smallest of the thirteen by population. It comprises the isla ...

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics ( physical geography), human impact characteristics ( human geography), and the interaction of humanity an ...

. The principal town of the islands and seat of the municipality is also called Oinousses. Oinousses has a small resident population, living primarily in the island's town of Oinoússes (pop. 792), and a recently built monastery. The town is centred on a square and a small port; it includes a school, several churches, a Naval high school and a maritime museum. The only other populated settlements are Kástron (pop. 29) and Aspalathrókampos (5).

Employment

The vast majority of the workforce of the island is engaged in seafaring, fishing and goat-herding. The islands are noted as the origin of an unusual cluster of successful ship-owning families: the Lemos, Pateras, Hadjipateras, Samonas,Kollakis and Lyras families. Whilst most of the families now live elsewhere most of the year, the islands and town are well maintained with a strong naval connection. Oinoussians abroad are noted for their successful entrepreneurial skills in the industrial transportation industry. Although the number of Oinoussian ship operating companies has fallen since their heyday in the 1960s they still maintain a formidable position in the industrial transportation industry.

Museum

In the town, there is a beautiful and well kept museum. On display are a number of ship models, dating back as far as 1800. Some of these little boats were constructed in the Napoleonic age by prisoners of war. (See also the guide book to the Museum of Oinousses)

The islands of the complex

The Oinousses Complex comprises the below islands. The largest is Oinousses or Egnoussa (14.3 km²), the second-largest is the islet Pasas or Panagia (2.5 km²) and the third-largest is the islet Vatos. The municipality has an area of 17.427 km². *Oinousses or Egnoussa (Οινούσσες) *Agios Panteleimon (Άγιος Παντελεήμων) *Archontoniso (Αρχοντόνησο) *Gadros (Γάδρος) *Gaidouronisos (Γαϊδουρόνησος) *Mallaropetra (Μαλλιαρόπετρα) *Monaftis (Μονάφτης) *Nisi Panagias (Νησί Παναγιάς) *Nisi Pittas (Νησί Πίττας) *Papapondikadiko (Παπαποντικάδικο) * Pasas or Panagia (Πασάς) *Pateroniso (Πατερόνησο) *Pontikonisi (Ποντικονήσι) *Prassonisia (Πρασονήσια) *Santa Panagia (Σάντα Παναγιά) *Vatos (Βάτος)

Historical population

References

External links

Populated places in Chios (regional unit) Mediterranean port cities and towns in Greece Municipalities of the North Aegean Landforms of Chios (regional unit) Archipelagoes of Greece Islands of the North Aegean Natura 2000 in Greece {{NorthAegean-geo-stub