Listed 37 sub titles with search on: Sights for wider area of: "LESVOS Island NORTH AEGEAN" .
LESVOS (Island) NORTH AEGEAN
AGIA PARASKEVI (Small town) LESVOS
The school building of neoclassical architecture of the early 20th
century (1922-30’s) has a rectangular "U" ground-plan shape and shows a perfect
symmetry at its openings. The formation of the school-yard area is also very significant.
The construction of the school building, one of the most attractive
on the island, was financed with revenues of the town’s oil-press which today
has been transformed into a multi-cultural center.
This text is cited June 2003 from the Hellenic Ministry of Culture URL below.
MYTILINI (Town) LESVOS
The two-storied eclectic style building with the profound neoclassical
elements, was built in 1900 by the City which financed it to house its offices.
The old Municipality building, located at the city’s quay, housed
the city’s services for many years. Today, the first floor hosts the City Council
Assembly and a ceremonial hall, while the ground-floor houses the Library and
halls for some of the City’s cultural activities.
This text is cited June 2003 from the Hellenic Ministry of Culture URL below.
It is a building of rectangular profile with a firm symmetry at the
openings on both floors. Great emphasis is given to the main entrance’s decorations
of stone-made neoclassical elements (pediments, columns, lintels, etc.). Particularly
interesting is also the big wooden staircase inside.
The building is located inside the city’s historical center. Its construction
was financed by the local benefactor, Z.Vournazos, but the architect’s name remains
unknown. The construction was completed in 1899 and since the building was inaugurated
it has been serving as a school. Today, it houses the 4th Elementary School and
the 2nd High School of Mytilini.
This text is cited June 2003 from the Hellenic Ministry of Culture URL below.
It is an impressive building of neoclassical architecture and a rectangular
"U" ground-plan shape. It is three-story high and consists of the basement (auxiliary
spaces), the ground-floor (classrooms) and the first floor (library and ceremonial
room). The facade is covered by white marble.
It was built between 1888 and 1890 by Argyris Adalis, a local architect,
who had also worked as assistant to the German architects, Hansen and Ziller.
Its construction was financed by the island’s benefactors, M.Mitrelias and Z.Vournazos.
In 1912 it was used by the Greek liberating army.
Today, the building houses the First High-School of Mytilene and attracts
many visitors. It is located in the center of the city and is a touchstone for
the local society.
This text is cited June 2003 from the Hellenic Ministry of Culture URL below.
Tsarsi
Hamam (in Turkish "tsarsi" means "market") is situated in the historical centre
of Mytilene and constitutes part of the neighbouring Yeni
Tzami complex. In the Turkish urban architecture, which continues the Byzantine
urban habits, baths were the place used for the reception of strangers in town
and constituted part of both the religious and social life of Islam.
The building dates in the late Turkish rule. It has a linear order
of its rooms, a feature that constitutes part of the general typology of Turkish
baths, where the visitor is gradually led from the cold to the hot room. This
typology is already known from ancient Greek and Roman baths.
Since the beginning of 2000 restoration works have commenced in the
building.
This text is cited June 2003 from the Hellenic Ministry of Culture URL below, which also contains image.
POLICHNITOS (Small town) MYTILINI
This rectangular building is a characteristic example of the industrial
architecture of Lesbos island
- and most specifically of the area of Polychnitos - as it stands with its stone
slovelikia that decorate every opening on the facets.
Having served for many years as an oil-press, it was recently restored.
After some architectural interventions and adjustments it now operates as a multi-cultural
center that hosts several cultural activities for the Municipality
of Polichnitos and the greater area.
AGIOS STEFANOS (Settlement) MYTILINI
Tel: +30 22530 61214, 61774, 616555
The temple of Saint Stephen (Agios Stephanos) is located in the eastern part of the island, near the village Mantamados. It belongs to the type of aisleless cruciform churches and dates approximately in the late Byzantine years. It is of relatively small dimensions and was totally constructed with carved stones of rose-colored trachyte.
It was initially roofed with a dome, which however had already collapsed
when the traveler Newton visited the church in the mid-19th century. The roof was rebuilt by the local inhabitants, with the placing of wooden beams in the place of the dome and the covering with bricks. In the eastern side, three semicircle apses of the holy altar are discerned, while arches ornament the north and south wall.
The roofed shed with pillars in the west of the church is a more recent
construction, too. Architectural elements of an older church and a Roman inscription
are found incorporated in the walls.
The small settlement of "Aggeioplastes" (Potters), not far
from the church itself, in a location called "Anichtos", with characteristic pottery
workshops and furnaces is of particular interest as well.
MITHYMNA (Small town) LESVOS
Tel: +30 22530 71803
The medieval fortress of Molyvos
is situated on the top of a rocky hill,
in the place of the acropolis of ancient Mithymna.
Built with reddish and brown trachyte, it has the shape of a disporpotioned trapezium with sides of about 70m.
and it is preserved in a relatively good condition.
The exact date of its founding is not known. It was probably built after the
mid-13th century and it obviously belongs to the series of the numerous forts that were
constructed in that period by the Lesbians, in order to render the defense both against the
Turks and the Franks possible. In 1373 it was restored by Francisco Gateluzzo A´.
Additions took place during the period of the Turkish occupation (1462-1912).
Restorations commenced in 1976 and up to 1981 a number of strengthenings,
rebuildings and joint-fillings in parts of the walls took place. In 1993 a crack
in the south bulwark was restored and up to this day consolidation works are carried
out in parts of the fortress that bear signs of damage.
In summers, varied cultural events take place in its inner yard.
It was built in the Byzantine era on the ruins of ancient walls, as a defence against raids made by Franks and Turks. It was completed in 1373 by the Genoese Fransisco Gatelouzo. Later the Ottomans extended the fortifications. It is very well built from red and brown trachyte rock, with strong walls and inlaid slabs carrying inscriptions, coats of arms and other marks. The space is divided in several levels. The main gate is made of heavy wood and is covered with metal slabs. The castle stands on the top of a pine-clad hill and is among the best preserved in the Eastern Mediterranean. Today it is used for cultural events.
This text is cited Jan 2003 from the Prefecture of Lesvos URL below, which contains images.
MYTILINI (Town) LESVOS
It is built on top of a pine-clad hill, near the port. It is one of the largest castles in the Mediterranean. Its construction started in around 483-565 AD and was completed during the years of the rule of the Genoese family of Gatelouzi (1355-1462). Ancient materials were used in the building. In 1373 small towers were built inside the castle by Francisco A’ Gatelouzo. In 1384, an earthquake destroyed it and it had to be reconstructed. Later it was fortified with new ramparts, dikes and cannons. The Turks took control of the Castle in 1462.
The palace of the Gatelouzi still stands, a square stone tower with an inlaid slab. The shapes on the slab show the coat of arms of the Gatelouzi and scenes from Roman duels. On the outer gate of the Castle, there is the coat of arms of the Paleologi. During the years of Ottoman rule, a seminary was built - the building is still preserved today - and other works took place. Under the castle there is a system of tunnels, which offered shelter to women and children during war and a cistern (capacity 4,000 m3). Today the castle is used for cultural events.
This text is cited Jan 2003 from the Prefecture of Lesvos URL below, which contains images.
SIGRI (Port) LESVOS
It is located on a cape in the west part of the island, 93 km from Mytilene. It was built by the Turks in 1757 in order to protect the port of Sigri (back then the most important port for the transportation trade) from piracy. Throughout the Turkish occupation the castle constituted a central site of the country town, around which the settlement developed in the area protected by the fortress.
The structure has small dimensions, an almost square ground-plan and square towers in its four corners. The main gate to the east was closed with double-leaf wooden door cased in iron plates. It is ornamented with a pointed arch - a typical feature of the Arabic architecture - constructed with alternate red and white stones. In the inner part of the fortress, the arched lintels (built with stones or bricks) of the cells that were used for the accommodation of the permanent guard are of similar inspiration.
It is a small stone castle, built sometime in the 1750s or 1760s in the Ottoman style by the vice admiral of the Ottoman fleet Souleiman Pasha for the protection of the port against pirates. The town is square and has towers in its corners. It has two double gates, east and west, which are covered with iron. It has a top-pointed arch - typical of the Arabic architecture - made of alternating red and white stones. Similar are the arches of the rooms used by the guards. It is in very good condition. The visitor can admire Turkish inscription and decorations. The Castle offers a wonderful view of the Aegean Sea.
This text is cited Jan 2003 from the Prefecture of Lesvos URL below, which contains images.
PETRA (Small town) LESVOS
The mansion
of Vareltzidaina is situated in the centre of the village Petra and was built
in the end of the 18th century. It constitutes a characteristic example of that
period's mansions, in which typical features of local architecture are combined
with influences from the East as well as from North Greece.
It is a two-storeyed building, with a solid ground floor built with
stones, which adds a fort-like character to the habitation. The storey is constructed
with "bagdati" and is divided in six rooms parametric to the chamber, which are
decorated with remarkable and typical of the era frescoes.
This extract is cited June 2003 from the Hellenic Ministry of Culture URL below, which also contains images.
The "House of VALERETZIDAINA", at a short distance from the village square, more or less next to the back of the rock of the Panagia, has retained almost entirely its original form.This is a building of the turn of eighteenth-nineteenth century. It belongs to the secular architecture of Lesvos of the period of late Ottoman rule and combines local and Oriental features with neo-Classicism, Byzantine architecture and baroque. It has a number of similarities to the mansion of Georgios Schwarz at Ambelakia in Thessaly, which was built in the late eighteenth century. The traditional settlement of Petra takes on its own individual local colour from the well-preserved neo-Classical mansions of the early twentieth century, with their spacious well-planted court-yards, the carefully crafted railings and the elaborated wrought-iron doors with variety of knockers.
This text is cited Apr 2003 from the Municipality of Petra URL below, which contains images.
MYTILINI (Town) LESVOS
Yeni
Tzami (Mosque) is located in the middle of an area that in the past constituted
the Turkish market and which today is known as Epano Skala, in Mytilene. It was
built by Naziri Moustafa Aga Koulaxizi in the third decade of the 19th century
and constitutes the biggest as well as the most recent Islamic temple of the city.
Its architectural type is based on that of an aisleless cruciform,
with an upper floor in the north side. In its interior, parts of an initially
rich mural decoration can still be seen.
In summers the mosque functions as an exhibition place for the work
of mainly Lesbians artists. Since 2000 restoration works have commenced in the
monument which will go on throughout the year.
This text is cited June 2003 from the Hellenic Ministry of Culture URL below, which also contains image.
It is situated at Epano Skala, the old Turkish quarter of the city.
The inscription plate mentions that the mosque was built in 1615 and thus it constitutes
one of the oldest Islamic temples in Mytilene. It is built with stones and has
one storey. A marble staircase (with three steps) led to the front yard that was
paved with stones.
In the middle of the front yard there was a multilateral fountain
made of white marble and decorated with engraved arabesques. In its interior,
the roof bore colourful decoration, which -after the Turks withdrawal - was covered
with brown colour. The ornamentation of Mihrab (almost 6 m high) was made of plaster.
This text is cited June 2003 from the Hellenic Ministry of Culture URL below, which also contains image.
AGIA PARASKEVI (Small town) LESVOS
The Oil-Press of Agia Paraskevi is a complex of stone-built buildings
that serves as a characteristic sample of exceptional industrial architecture
of the early 20th century (1910) on the island.
Initially, it had been operating as an industrial complex (oil-press
and corn-mill) and later on, until 1967, it ran as a community business.
In 1984, with the support of the Prefecture
of Lesvos, it was restored and transformed into a cultural center. The central
building was turned into a multi-cultural hall with a 400-seats capacity, the
oil storehouses were converted to a Folk-Art Museum while the 11 olives’ storehouses
were transformed into modern guest-houses.
This text is cited June 2003 from the Hellenic Ministry of Culture URL below.
The remains of this Early-Christian
basilica can be found along the main road that connects Ag. Paraskevi with
Komi and Pigi.
It is believed that this church constituted the nave of a small monastery and
dates in the second half of the 6th century A.D.
The monument was excavated and restored by A. Orlandos in 1937.
This text is cited June 2003 from the Hellenic Ministry of Culture URL below.
ERESSOS (Port) LESVOS
Three-aisled
basilica, now completely ruined. The floors of the narthex and the middle
aisle are covered with interesting mosaics,
decorated with animal figures, floral motives and geometric patterns. A square
space at the south end of the narthex probably gave access to the gallery through
a staircase. Several graves have been uncovered in the eastern part of the basilica,
while a large number of architectural members lie in the south aisle, which is
paved with clay plaques. The apse of an earlier building has come to light to
the SW of the three-sided apse of the basilica.
The basilica was discovered by monks of the Monastery
of Pithario, in the years 1884 and 1885. An inscription on the frame of the
west part of the mosaic floor in the middle aisle, mentions bishop John, who is
identified as the representative of the Lesbians in the Third Ecumenic Synod of
Ephesos, in 431 A.D. This
inscription dates the basilica to the first half of the 5th century.
The monument was excavated in 1928 by A. Orlandos and the site was
later remodelled by S. Charitonides, in 1962. The area was cleared and the mosaics
were restored in 1988. In 1989 the mosaics were covered in order to be protected.
The monument is open to the public.
This text is cited June 2003 from the Hellenic Ministry of Culture URL below, which also contains images.
PETRA (Small town) LESVOS
From the abandoned mountain village of Klapados, which is in the southern
boundaries of the Municipality of Petra and was the site of the last victorious
battles of the Greek troops against the Turks in December 1912 for the liberation
of Lesvos, an enchanting ecological route starts out to Aghios Alexandros, through
a publicly-owned pine wood of great beauty. On this route, it is possible from
a high vantage point to appreciate the full grandeur of Anaxos,
Petra, Mithymna, and Eftalou.
Bush walking is an exciting experience beginning after Kaloni
where the pine trees start to appear, many signs to gate you through, kiosks and
rest locations are available. The view is panoramic, through the pine trees you
can observe all the northwest beaches and villages, on south the gulf of Kaloni,
on east the olive groves of the villages Stypsi
and Agia Paraskevi.
This text is cited Apr 2003 from the Municipality of Petra URL below, which contains images.
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