Lefkada or Lefkas is an island in the Ionian Sea and together with the islands of Corfu, Kefalonia, Ithaca, Zakynthos and Paxos make up the Ionian Islands Region. It is the fourth largest island of the Heptan Islands with an area of 320 sq. km. and fourth in population with approximately 23,000 inhabitants at the 2011 census. According to the Kapodistrias plan, Lefkada together with the islands of Kalamos, Kastos and Meganisi, (also known as Prigiponnisia), constituted the prefecture of Lefkada with the city of Lefkada as its seat. However, since 2011, when it was included in its program, Lefkada, together with the aforementioned islands, except for Meganisi, is now a municipality with its seat again in the city of Lefkada, while Meganisi is a separate municipality with its seat in Katomeri.
Due to its geographical position (its coasts are very close to those of mainland Greece, which are separated by the historic Drepanos strait), it is connected to Aitoloakarnania by a floating bridge about 20 meters long. Along with Evia, they are the only two islands in Greece that can be accessed by road. The highest mountain is Stavrota, with steep slopes and a height of 1,184 meters.
Sights
The beach of Egremni in the south of Lefkada.
Just outside the city and directly across from the floating bridge (its opening is 40 meters) is the Venetian castle of Agia Mavra. The castle is a model of fortification art. Inside the city there is the archaeological museum, which houses works of art, as well as findings from the Paleolithic era to Roman times and the Lefkada Marina, which is considered one of the largest and most organized in the Mediterranean.
Partial view of the lagoon in Lefkada town.
At the entrance of the city, next to the port, is the famous park of the poets (the locals usually call it Bosketo), which houses the busts of important personalities of the island: (Valaorites, Sikelianos, Lefkadios Hern, Dimitrios Golemis, Cleareti Dipla - Malamou ), who left an era with their artistic aura and their marvelous works. But it is worth walking on the wooden bridge that is built over the canal, which is located right in front of the pedestrian street with the cafe-bars, next to the city's port. The inhabitants call it the bridge of sighs or the bridge of lovers. It was built at the beginning of the previous decade and with its architecture gives a Venetian air to the city.
On the beach of Gyra, near the town, are the four windmills out of the twelve that used to exist, which until the end of the 20th century milled large quantities of grain, mainly from Russia. Near the village of Fryni, just outside the city is the Holy Monastery of Faneromeni, which is a museum of Ecclesiastical Art. Two km south of the city there is the area of Kalligoni, which includes the surviving ruins of the prehistoric city of Nirikos. The specific place has been declared an archaeological site. Apart from these, however, the visitor can also get to know the beautiful natural landscapes that the island has. The beaches of inexhaustible beauty, for which Lefkada is known worldwide, since many of them have been repeatedly voted by tourist guides as the best in the Mediterranean, with Porto Katsiki and Egremni being the most famous, are a pole of attraction for many millions of tourists around the world. There are also the waterfalls in Dimosari, just outside of Nydri, as well as the Melissa Gorge in the municipality of Sfakiot.
Cape Lefkata, located at the southernmost tip of the island, is inextricably linked to its history and inspires admiration in those who visit it. In Lefkada there are century-old plane trees such as the plane tree in Fryni and the plane tree in the Metropolis of Lefkada.
The first museum in the European area for Lefkadi Hern was inaugurated as the Historical Center of Lefkadi Hern in the Spiritual Center of the Municipality of Lefkada, on July 4, 2014. The Museum includes first editions, rare books and Japanese collectibles. It is housed in a renovated hall on the ground floor of the building of the Spiritual Center of the Municipality of Lefkada. With the help of photographs, texts, exhibits, the visitor can navigate through the important moments of Lefkadio Hearn's impressive life, but also the cultures of Europe, America and Japan of the late 18th and early 19th centuries through the open mind of Hearn's lectures, texts and stories. The Municipalities of Kumamoto, Matsue, Shinjuku, Yaizu, Toyama University, the Koizumi family and others from Greece and Japan contributed to the creation of the Lefkadio Hearn Historical Center
Source : www.wikipedia.gr
