Pyrgos Limassol (Lemesou)

Pyrgos Limassol is a village of the homonymous province in Cyprus and is situated 18 kilometers east of Limassol, 72 kilometers southwest of Nicosia, 56 kilometers west of Larnaca and 84 kilometers east of Paphos.

Built at an altitude of 85 meters, very close to the sea and with its northern part reaching 480 meters altitude, Pyrgos Limassol of the approximately 2,500 inhabitants is a large settlement with a rich history and archaeological finds. During the summer months, it has a large number of visitors because of the beautiful seafront with the marina of Agios Raphael, one of the most well organized marinas on the island and because of the five-star hotels in the surrounding area. The clean and sandy beach of Aoratoi, with its unique “lilies of the sand”, has become a pole of attraction for locals and foreigners who want to enjoy the sea in close proximity to the city of Limassol.

The basics crops of the community are citrus fruits, olive and carob trees, fruit trees, few vines and few legumes, but the most famous product of the place are tomatoes. To the south and near the sea, there is a power station and a cement factory.

Historically, Pyrgos of Limassol has existed since antiquity, which is evident from the findings of the excavations that brought to light a copper production workshop dating back to 3,000-2,000 BC, as well as the necropolis with the bones of the metallurgists. The workshop located at Mavrorachi is one of the oldest testimonies of metallurgical activity across the Mediterranean, demonstrating that they possessed the art of forging, as well as that they had developed the advanced technology for metal casting. Close by – two kilometers away – ruins of ancient mining galleries have also been found from which copper sulphide salts were produced. Pyrgos Limassol is very close to the archaeological site of Amathus, so it is likely that the settlement was part of this ancient kingdom.

During the Middle Ages, the village existed with the same name that it got from a local tower (pyrgos in Greek means tower), a building dating back to the Byzantine times. This building, during the Frankish rule, belonged to a noble family, and the village was part of their feud. According to the local tradition, it used to be called the tower of the Queen, and from its bottom floor began a tunnel that reached Amathus and inside it could be found the queen’s golden carriage.

An important cultural attraction of the time are the ruins of the medieval watermill of Pyrgos Limassol, which consisted of a high-tech irrigation system together with a hydraulic system, a unique example of its kind in Cyprus, and it is believed to have been constructed by Cistercian monks. The monks seem to have lived in Pyrgos Limassol from 1238 to 1251, but preserved their property at least until the end of the 15th century.

Panagia (Virgin Mary) Pyrgotissa, dating back to 1902 is the main church of the village and is situated at its entrance. It is a stone-built edifice of a single-aisled basilica with arches and its foundations are three meters below the earth. The church celebrates on the fifteenth of August, when a crowd of people comes to the community and a big feast is held.

Another church in Pyrgos Limassol is Panagia (Virgin Mary) Neroforoussa, a stone-built basilica chapel built in the 13th-14th century and inside the small temple there is a wooden iconostasis dating back to 1856. On the day of its celebration, on 21

November, a litany is made to make rain to fall, hence the nickname “neroforousa” (literally – water bringing in Greek).

One and a half kilometers to the south of the village is the small stone-built chapel of Agia Marina which was restored in 1951, while on July 17th it celebrates with a festival and many people from the surrounding areas come to worship its icon. A monument that adorns the village and is a place of honor, is the monument of Andreas Nikolaou, a hero who fell during the Turkish invasion of 1974.

The visitor to Pyrgos Limassol, apart from enjoying the beach and the local sights, can also relax in the community park, dine in the many taverns and restaurants with exquisite appetizers for all tastes, as well as luxury five-star hotels offering comfortable accommodation with all the amenities.