The city of Limassol has been in existence for more than a century. Of course, towards the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries, it was more reminiscent of a village, a far cry from today's cosmopolitan image. The first representation of Limassol is proof of the massive change brought about by its rapid development.
In the year 1900, the painter Michael Koufos from Kalymnos creates this first representation of the city on canvas, wherein one can see the unexploited expanses of land along the city's seafront, and the few buildings around the port area. With a view towards the West and the center of the medieval city, the area known as the Old Port today, Limassol is represented for the very first time in 1900.
The painting depicts Limassol as it looked at the time, from the area where the Municipal Gardens are located today. The city was made up of just a few mere houses centered around a small core, in the area of the port. What is most striking is the large expanses of farmland, which have been transformed into densely populated areas today. Indeed, even the port was limited in its traffic, as it had an auxiliary role to that of the main port in Famagusta, whereas today it is one of the most important ports of Europe.
* NOTE: The tributes of the Project "History of Limassol" present information that has emerged from historical research thus far. Any new data is embedded into the tributes, once it has been confirmed.In Limassol in the late 19th century, Michael Koufos founded the first School of Art in Cyprus. His painting is now displayed at the Pattichion Municipal Museum in Limassol.
Photo by Thompson around 1875.
Photo by Foscolo around 1878.
The 1900 painting.
Photo from the Castle during the first decades of the 20th century.
