Limassol, surrounded by vineyards and citrus plantations, is a thriving friendly harbour at the south coast of Cyprus and the second largest city on the island (after Nicosia) where hardly a month passes without any festival or celebration. This fact and the swinging night life, which visitors from all over the world enjoy, gave Limassol the name “little Paris of Cyprus”. Though due to a construction boom it looks more like “little Miami”.
Limassol offers kilometres of sandy beaches, Hotels and Hotel Apartment of all categories. Apartment Buildings with tropical green surrounds, boulevards with little boutiques, snack bars and at every corner a bar. But mainly it is Cyprus’ centre for the Spirit and Wine Industry, which is celebrated enthusiastically in September; the parks are then filled with Stands of the main wineries and one can drink plenty and dance all day. The surrounding of Limassol was already occupied 2000 BC. The town didn’t carry any importance until the Crusaders came in the 12th century. Limassol is situated between the two most important ancient City-Kingdoms Amathus in the east, nowadays only a pile of stones, and Kurium to the west. The name, Limassol, derived from the Greek word némésos “in between”, seems to point to this location between the two famous ancient cities. The actual history of Limassol is undoubtedly established with the arrival of King Richard the Lionheart of England in Cyprus, during the Third Crusade. The conduct of Isaakios Komninos, then King of Cyprus, the marriage of Richard to Berengaria at the chapel of St. George, the Battle of Tremetousia between the armies of Richard and Komninos, the defeat and capture of the latter, the total destruction of Amathus (1191 a. d.) and the bolstering of the population of Limassol, were the basic factors that contributed to the city’s independent and dynamic rise.
Limassol’s luck though came and went with the Turks and Venetians. In the following centuries it was destroyed over and over again due to fighting between the two nations and in the 19th century there were only 150 houses left in the once proud city. Not until the British ruled the city, it flourished again due to the wine industry and later it was discovered as a holiday resort. Visits to places of interest would include Limassol Castle, which houses the Cyprus Mediaeval Museum, the District Archaeological Museum, the Folk Art Museum, the Limassol Municipal Art Gallery and the Municipal Gardens. |
Panoramic view of Limassol
The
castle of Colossi
