Limassol history guide

Graves that were found there date back to 2.000 B.C. and others date back to the 8th and 4th century B.C. These few remnants that were left behind witness the existence of a small colonization which did not manage to develop and flourish.

The history of Limassol is widely known by the events of 1191 A.D. which brought an end to the Byzantine dominion of Cyprus. The king of England, Richard the Lionheart, was travelling to the Holy Land in 1191 whereas his fiancé Berengaria and his sister loanna, (Queen of Sicily), were also travelling on a different ship. A sudden storm made the ship with the queens to stop in Limassol. Isaac Comnenus, the Byzantine governor of Cyprus, despised the Latins a graet deal. He didn’t let the queens to get off the ship and did not even offer to help them. When Richard arrived in Limassol and met Isaac Comnenus, he asked him to help with the crusade for the liberation of the Holy Land. While at the beginning Isaac had accepted, he later on refused to give any help.

Richard then chased him and took him down. Cyprus was therefore taken over by the British. Richard celebrated his marriage withBerengaria who had received the crown as queen of England in Cyprus. So, the Byzantine dominion in Cyprus ended.

Richard ruined Amathus and the residents were transferred to Limassol. A year later, in 1192 A.D. Cyprus was sold to the Templars, rich monks and soldiers whose aim was to look after the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem. The knights imposed high taxes, so as to put back all the money spent for Cyprus’s purchase. The Cypriots had to revolt and demanded that the promise should stop putting burden on them.  Richard accepted their request and a new purchaser was found: Guy de Lusignan, a Frank, a Roman Catholic. Cyprus was thus handed over to the Frankish Dynasty of the Lusignan kings of the medieval Cypriot kingdom.

For about three centuries 1192-1489 Limassol enjoyed a significant prosperity which lasted until the occupation of Cyprus by the Turks in 1570 A.D. Latin battalions which established monasteries were settled down there.

The settling down of merchants in Cyprus and particularly in Limassol in the 13th century led to the financial welfare of its people. Its harbour became a centre of shipping and commerce, and contributed greatly to the financial and cultural development.

Limassol bared the brunt of the Mamelukes of Egypt. The harbour of Limassol was now a shelter for the pirates who were ravaging the countries of the Eastern Mediterranean and were robbing the products of the Mohammedans. A military force arrived in Limassol in1424, sent by the Mamelukes of Egypt that destroyed and burned the town completely. A year later, they invaded Cyprus again, this time with greater forces. They plundered Famagusta and Larnaca, and then arrived in Limassol where very easily they occupied the Castle, burned many places and then returned to Cairo.

Cyprus was sold in1489 A.D. to the town of Venice by the Cypriot Queen Catherine Cornaro. The Venetianswere not interested in Cyprus though, as they were only interested in receiving the taxes and in exploiting the country’s sources. They destroyed the Castle of Limassol in1539.

Venetians enslaved all the inhabitants of Cyprus, and forced them to pay a tribute of 1/3 of their income, whether this was part of their products of the land, e.g. wheat, wine, oil, or animals or of any other product.

The Turks devastated and burned Limassol in 1570-1571 after having invaded and occupied Cyprus. Lemesos (Limassol) was conquered in July 1570 without any resistance. Limassol is said that it used to be a village with a significant number of inhabitants. The Christians used to live in small houses of such low height, that one had to bend in order to enter the house. This was deliberately chosen in order to prevent the Turks from riding a horse, to enter the houses.

During the years of the Turkish dominion, Cyprus faced a general decline especially due to the Turkish invaders poor contribution to society as well as their lack of interest combined with the high taxation. All these worked as were restraining factors for the intellectual development of the children and the people in general. The church contributed in the education of the country during the years 1754-1821. During those years new schools were set up in all the towns. Greek intellectuals used to teach Greek history, Turkish and French. The following schools operated in the town of Limassol:

• The Greek School which was established in 1819
• The first public school which was established in 1841
• The Girls’ School which was established in 1861

Cyprus was taken over by the British in 1878. The first British governor of Limassol was Colonel Warren. He showed a particular interest in the place and the town soon showed an improvement. The streets were cleaned, the animals were removed from the centre, roads were fixed, trees were planted and docks were constructed for the loading and unloading of those ships that were embarked away from the shore. Lanterns for the lighting of the central areas were also installed in the I880 up until 1912, when electricity replaced the old lanterns. As the 19th century was coming to its end the very first hotels began to operate. Among these were «Europe» and «Amathus».

All these brought intellectual and artistic improvement in the life of the people of Cyprus. Schools, theatres, clubs, art galleries, music halls, sport societies, football clubs etc. were all set up and upgraded the cultural life of Limassol. Job opportunities occurred as well in the wine and ceramic industries, while commerce and tourism was increasing in the port as well.