The Municipality of Leros belongs to the Prefecture of the Dodecanese of the South Aegean Region and includes the island of Leros, the surrounding islets, as well as the islands of Chora, Levitas and Pharmakonisi. The island of Leros lies between Patmos and Kalymnos.
The municipality has an area of ​​74.2km2 and a population of 7.917 inhabitants, based on the latest census of 2011.
The seat of the Municipality of Leros is Agia Marina.
The first inhabitants of Leros were Kares and Leleges. In the 6th century, when the Dorians conquered the Aegean islands, Leros became a Dorian colony. The island was conquered by the Milesians and after the Persians. During the Peloponnesian War, Leros was used in war operations. With the defeat of the Athenians, Leros was ruled by the Spartans. In the years of Byzantium, in 1087, the inhabitants of the island rose against the emperor Alexios Komnenos, who wanted to give up islands to the monk Ioannis Latrenos, who later became the holy Christodoulos, in order to establish monasteries. The conflicts lasted two years. In 1523, Leros was conquered by the Ottomans, the rule of which remained until 1912, except twice that the Turkish occupation was interrupted, in 1648 during the Venetian war and in 1824 when the Turks were expelled from the island that remained free for three years. It was followed by the conquest by the Italians in 1912. Leros was incorporated in Greece in 1947.
The island had been converted by the Italians to a strong naval base and this was the reason why World War II, Leros, became the center of bloody clashes between the German troops and the Allies.
In 1957, the Psychiatric Hospital of Leros, which has been criticized by international humanitarian organizations over the past decades for its way of functioning.
The monuments of Leros are many of the most important ruins of the temple of the Goddess Artemis in Partheni, the Castle of Leros-Kastro Panagias built during the Byzantine times on the ruins of an ancient fortress. Inside the Castle lies the Monastery of Panayia Kyra (1300). There are also many churches and monasteries, as well as traditional buildings with the most important buildings in Lakki, which are art-deco, as well as in Agia Marina and Platanos.
The island is ideal for tourism. Many prefer it for diving, since at the bottom of the sea there are many shipwrecks.
Known beaches of Leros are Alinda, Panteli, Vromolithos, Xirokambos and others.