Agios Amvrosios Lemesou
Agios Amvrosios Lemesou in Cyprus is a village of the homonymous province, located some 27 kilometers northwest of Limassol, 94 kilometers west of Larnaca, 98 kilometers southwest of Nicosia and 58 kilometers east of Paphos.
It is one of the “wine villages” of the province with about 300 inhabitants and built at an altitude of about 600 meters above sea level. Agios Amvrosios Lemesou is known for its excellent wine produced in the two wineries of the village. Actually, the local ecological winery has made the region popular Europe-wide, as it has won many awards and is one of the first that operated on the island, since 1988. Some of its well- known wines are the “Oinanthi” (white, rosé and red), and the white and red Ampelida and Agravani, which in ancient Greek means deep red. The organic wine and the various grape by-products, such as stafylokoufeta (traditional sweets), krasomelo (wine with honey) and organic cosmetics are renowned and purchased by the many visitors who come to the community.
At the entrance of the village, you will encounter the characteristic image of the central square next to the municipal council, the huge mulberry tree and the cafe where people gather to enjoy their coffee. Agios Amvrosios Lemesou has also a children’s playground, a grocery store, youth center, two restaurants with one of them located on the square, as well as agrotouristic accommodation. The monument of Epifaniou Angelidi is dedicated to the abbot of the monastery Trooditissa who was a benefactor of the village, establishing the local school in 1909.
The main church of the community is Agios Amvrosios and is located in the center of the village. The small stone-built church is a basilica of the 14th century with a carved gilded iconostasis dating back to 1877 and icons dating from 1853 to 1855 and from 1866 to 1867. The also stone altar is actually a miniature domed church supported by four columns, which forms in the middle a small dome with the hagiography of Nearchou Yiallourides.
The newly built church of the miraculous Agios Ephrem (St. Ephraim) is the second church of the village.
The stone church of Agia Elisavet (St. Elizabeth) is a basilica with a tiled roof, located 3 kilometers south of the settlement and was built in the 16th century on the foundations of an older church. The chapel is decorate with Byzantine frescoes of the 16th century that have been preserved in very good condition, such as those of St. George the Triumphant, St. Ermolaos, St. Damian, St. Kosmas, St. Damascene, St. Panteleimon and others. Near the temple and in the bed of the river, you will find the holy water of Agia Elisavet (St. Elizabeth).
Approximately 6 kilometers from Agios Amvrosios Lemesou, lies the chapel of Agios Georgios (St. George), a small stone-built church with the architectural traits of a single aisled basilica of the 14th century and characteristic frescoes. The chapel of St. George has a service on April 23, on Easter Monday, and on November 3, at the translation of the relics of St. George.
A memorable geomorphological phenomenon that takes place at Agios Amvrosios Lemesou is the “capturing” of the river waters of Paramali from Kryos river, a tributary of Kouris. While the Kryos river descends from Troodos, following a nearly straight westerly direction and seems to be a continuation of Paramali river, to the north of the community it makes a 90-degree turn to the east and joins the waters of Kouris.