Chios (town)
Greek town on the homonymous island
Chios (Greek: Χίος) is the main town and a former municipality on the Greek island of Chios in the North Aegean. Since the 2011 local government reform, it is part of the municipality Chios, of which it is a municipal unit. The municipal unit has an area of 22.823 km2. It is located on the eastern coast of the island facing the Turkish coastal town of Çeşme. The town has a population of 27,015 (2021) and is the administrative capital and main port of both the island and of the regional unit of Chios. Chios town is one of eight municipal units on the island.
The city is often locally referred to as Chora (Χώρα; lit. 'town') or Kastro (Κάστρο; 'castle') to distinguish it from the entirety of the island with which it shares the name.
North of Chios lies the suburb of Vrontados, while the Chios Island National Airport and town of Karfas lie a few kilometres south of the centre.
History
Originally the site of an ancient settlement, the town was first built at the north side of a natural harbour. By the 16th century, the Byzantine walled town had been further fortified by the Genoese rulers into a massive medieval castle, the "Kastro".
The public source identifies “Chios (town)” as greek town on the homonymous island. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Chios, town and Greek.
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Place names and jurisdictional language are key evidence: both can reveal earlier catalogue descriptions and overlooked record series. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 20, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q748832. VIAF identifies the subject as 125641528. The Library of Congress control number is n94020691. Authority coordinates are 38.373, 26.137. 3 of 6 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 2011 and 2021.
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This entry incorporates text from “Chios (town)” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.