Lania

Lania is a village in the district of Limassol in Cyprus and is situated km from Limassol, km from Larnaca, km from Nicosia and km from Paphos.

A semi-mountainous village at an altitude of 580 meters, built on the northeastern slope of the valley of the Kouris River and at the foot of the hill “Valanas”, Lania is a small and beautiful koumantarochori (wine producing village) of Cyprus with about 280 residents, including many foreigners, English, Russian even Jews who arrived here and fell in love with the place, building or renovating traditional houses. Even though the glorious times of Commandaria (sweet local wine) belong to the past due to urbanization, the remaining residents continue its rich history. They still cultivate vines with excellent quality grapes and continue the tradition, producing Commandaria, zivania and soutziouko. The small and neat community with the cobbled streets and the yards of the houses filled with flowers, is one of the most ideal destinations for wandering around, as the visitor will see huge posters with historic photos of the old generations of the residents at the entrance, will visit museums and galleries and enjoy the beautiful natural scenery and the perfectly harmonized with its surroundings landscape of the village. The name of the village comes from the name Lana, daughter of Dionysus, god of wine, and according to the locals in the past there was also a “Dkionysos” location (Dionysus), situated between Lania, Trimiklini and Sylikous, which was an ancient site of worship of the god Dionysus. According to a second version, the name has to do with the “valania”, the fruit of the oak tree, as there are many growing in the area, while respectively there is also a location “Valanas” and the homonymous church of Virgin Mary. A third version claims that the name of the settlement comes from the bird “aetomachos (red-backed shrike)”, otherwise called lanios and the female of the species lania.

The existence of the village is lost in the depths of time, and according to excavations near the chapel of Agios Georgios (St. George), in the area “Chassiena”, “Agia Marina”, “Katalymmata” and others, ancient vases and objects were found from the Geometric period of Cyprus between 1050 and 750 BC. This era is connected with the first Greek presence on the island, as the Achaeans settled in Cyprus during the Late Bronze Age, after 1400 BC. Other findings from the same period, such as tombs, were found in the location of "Ellinika" at the entrance of the village and at an area to the east of the hill of Valana.

It is very likely that Lania has been inhabited since 1600 BC, at the beginning of the Late Bronze Age and was founded in order to accommodate the transportation of copper from Troodos to Alassa for processing. Then the mining of copper ores in the Troodos areas was at its peak. The ores were then transported to the archaeological site of Amathous, from where they were exported abroad. In the 4th century, St. Epiphanius, who came to Cyprus in order to visit St. Hilarion, passed also from Lania. During the Frankish rule (1192-1489), in the region there were monasteries that were feuds with financial and administrative autonomy while they also possessed and cultivated land areas, as well as had workshops and mills. In the area of ​​Lania there were the feuds of Valanas, Agia Marina to the south of the village, where still exists the feud-monastery, Katalummata, Amasgous and Archangelos in the modern Monagri. The fief of Valanas, in the area where now stands the homonymous chapel, had developed such a large wine production, that Lania became the largest wine producing village in Cyprus. In the area of

​​Valanas were found foundations, columns, olive oil mill remains and a furnace for melting metal ore, dating back to that period.

Under the Venetian rule and during the reign of Henry IV (1553-1610) in France, the vineyards of Champagne where the famous champagne was produced, were destroyed by disease. Seeking new plants to replace the damaged ones, King Henry came to Lania, following the fame of the village for its excellent wine. Impressed, he gave orders for cuttings to be produced and taken back to Champagne. During the Turkish occupation, the village was looted and its residents left in search of a better tomorrow. After a few years, three families returned to their land and rebuild the village.

Lania today offers a lot of options to its visitors and will undoubtedly win their hearts. At the entrance of the village there is a traditional drinking fountain that is a reference point of the village and supplied the residents with water, the Wine-Press Museum of Lania, built in 1822, the Museum of the Olive Mill of Lania, the Museum of the Traditional House of Lania, the Theme Museum of Commandaria Storage of Lania, as well as an art school and galleries. The 800 years old oak under which sat king Henry when he came for the vines of the region, no longer exists, but there is nearby an older one that is definitely worth seeing. Not far from the center of the village there is a river with a small park and the Kato Vrysi (drinking fountain), while just above lies the picnic area of Panagia Valana, next to the old and the new chapel of Panagia (the Virgin Mary). Inside the church Panagia Chrysolanitissa in the village center, there is the icon of the Panagia Valana, which is considered one of the most ancient icons in the world. Other churches of the village are Agia Marina (St. Marina), a small basilica in the west of the village and a few meters further south is the chapel of Agios Georgios (St. George) which is always open.

After the walk, visitors can relax and enjoy a coffee or beer in the traditional cafe beneath the large plane tree or in a more modern cafe and enjoy their meal at the local taverns.

If you are lucky and find yourself at the village in the end of May, you can take part in the local feast of the village Avles and Dromakia of Lania, during which the women of the village will give visitors a tour of their houses, while another feast, from the many feasts-festivals of Cyprus, is organized by the foreign residents of the village, with part of the proceeds going to charity. In this area there is also a cave between Lania, Agios Mamas Lemesou and Limnatis – the cave of “Spilios tis Agias”, which was a catacomb of the early Christians during the persecutions and is believed to reach all the way to Limassol. Until a few years ago it served as a shelter for the shepherds in winter.

In the community thrives an extremely rare shrub, the Plomis Brevibracteata Turrii, which grows only there, as well as many rare bird species such as different species of vultures, eagles, Bonelli’s eagles and Peregrine falcons.