Last modified: 2022-02-09 by ivan sache
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![[Flag]](../images/g/gr-ai-lp.gif)
Flag of Leipsoi - Image by Tomislav Šipek, 9 February 2022
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The municipality of Leipsoi, also known as Lipsi (Λειψώ) (790 inhabitants in 2011, 1,735 ha) is formed of an island located in the northern part of the Dodecanese.
The municipality was not modified with 2011 local government reform.
The history of Lipsi is closely related to the history of the neighboring islands of Dodecanese, and particularly Patmos. Lipsi was first inhabited in the prehistoric times by the tribe of Cares. The most flourishing period of Lipsi was in the Hellenistic times. During the Byzantine period, in the 11th century, the islands of Lipsi and Patmos were vested to Osios Christodoulos, after the decision of Emperor Alexios I Komnenos. That time, many monks from Patmos came to live on Lipsi and many new monasteries were established, among them the Monastery of Panagia Harou that is considered the protector of the island today.
The main town of Lipsi was founded in 1669 by a Cretan man named Elias. That time many Cretans left Crete, after the Ottoman occupation, and resided in Dodecanese islands. Over time, Lipsi followed the historical course of the rest of Dodecanese and was eventually united to Greece in 1948.
In the early 20th century, a large immigration wave started and many locals
left Lipsi and migrated to Australia and the USA. These immigrants have
always supported their homeland and financed many public works on the
island, including the road network and the reconstruction of the church of
Agios Ioannis Theologos. Today about 700 people live permanently in Lipsi
and their main financial sources come from fishing, agriculture and
tourism.
[Greeka]
Olivier Touzeau, 3 May 2014
The flag of Leipsoi (photo) is white with the municipal emblem in the center.
Olivier Touzeau, Paraskevas Renesis & Tomislav Šipek, 9 February 2022