Limassol - History

The city of Lemesos (Limassol) is situated in a picturesque location on the shores of the Bay of Akrotiri in the narrow coastal plain, between the two ancient city kingdoms of Amathus to the east and Kourion to the west. It is within an hour's drive from the capital Lefkosia to the north, the port cities of Larnaka to the east and Pafos to the west and the main mountain resorts of the Troodos range.

In the city's environs there are numerous archaeological sites to visit covering the whole spectrum of the island's history and even pre-history from the neolithic settlement at Sotera, to Roman Kourion, to Mediaeval Kolossi Castle, to Byzantine churches. Then there are the picturesque villages on the mountain slopes, known the world over for their excellent wines, including the famous Commandaria. Higher up the mountains still is the summer resort of Platres and the Monastery of Trooditissa among the pine forests of the Troodos massif.

Lemesos is today the island's second largest city with a population of 154.400, the most important tourist and commercial centre and the biggest port.

It was already the island's main port during Lusignan times. However, by the 19th century, after being ravaged by fires, floods and earthquakes, it lost most of its importance to Larnaka and Ammochostos (Famagusta), which became the main ports of the island.

It gradually gained in importance during the British colonial period with the establishment of Cyprus's first industrial units - mainly agricultural product processing (wine-making, fruit-juice production, fruit-canning) and light industry (shoe-making, clothing). Its population grew rather rapidly during the first half of the 20th century mainly because of the influx of rural populations from the district itself as well as from Pafos district to the west.

Following the Turkish invasion of 1974, Lemesos took over from Ammochostos as the island's biggest port. It also became the island's biggest commercial and tourist centre while industrial activity also increased. The population of the city increased dramatically in 1974 since tens of thousands of refugees from Turkish occupied Cyprus found refuge here.