Lychna ( el, Λύχνα) is a village and a community in the island of

Lemnos Lemnos or Limnos ( el, Λήμνος; grc, Λῆμνος) is a Greek island in the northern Aegean Sea. Administratively the island forms a separate municipality within the Lemnos regional unit, which is part of the North Aegean region. The p ...

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...

. In 2001 its population was 110 people for the village, and 320 for the community, which includes the village Anemoessa. It is part of the municipal unit of

Moudros Moudros ( el, Μούδρος) is a town and a former municipality on the island of Lemnos, North Aegean, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Lemnos, of which it is a municipal unit. It covers the entire eas ...

. It is situated at about one kilometer from the swampy shore of the bay of Moudros, at 10 m elevation. It is 1.5 km south of Varos, 2 km northwest of

Romanou Romanou ( el, Ρωμανού) is a village and a community on the island of Lemnos, Greece. It is part of the municipal unit of Moudros. The community consists of the village Romanou and the deserted rural settlement Komi. Romanou is southwest o ...

, 4 km north of Moudros and 18 km east of Myrina.

Population

Name

According to tradition, its name (meaning "lights") is derived from the small lamps of the houses, that were visible at night to sailors on the bay. It can't be excluded that there was some sort of lighthouse, from which the name could be derived. On the English Admiralty charts a small cape named ''Akra Likhna'' was indicated. The village was first mentioned in 1785 by the French traveller Choiseul-Gouffier. On his map the name was marked including the article "ta": ''Taligna'' (τα Λύχνα ''ta Lychna''), and the nearby cape was marked as Cap Blanc. The same error was made by the travellers Conze (1850, ''Talihna'') and De Launay (1898, ''Talikna''). In 1904 Friedrich correctly mentioned it as ''Lychna''.

History

In the 19th century, it was an organised village that was mentioned in public documents. In 1856, there were 71 men between 18 and 60, who paid 2,272

piastre The piastre or piaster () is any of a number of units of currency. The term originates from the Italian for "thin metal plate". The name was applied to Spanish and Hispanic American pieces of eight, or pesos, by Venice, Venetian traders in the ...

s to avoid subscription. In 1874, there were 50 Christian families, and there were 67 houses. Its residents were farmers and pastoralists, and many worked in

Asia Minor Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The re ...

as builders and artisans. Outside the village, near the cemetery, there is a spring from which the village obtained its water. Near this spring there was a French military camp during the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. In 1912, Lychna became an independent community. In the interwar period, the village saw some growth, and it had 318 inhabitants in 1928. After the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, due to the emigration, its population declined, to 120 inhabitants in 1981. Many of its inhabitants moved to Athens. In 1991, the communities of Lychna and Anemoessa were united. In 2001 the combined population was 338.

Points of interest

In 1865, the church of Saint Demetrius was built. In 1924, an impressive external

narthex The narthex is an architectural element typical of early Christian and Byzantine basilicas and churches consisting of the entrance or lobby area, located at the west end of the nave, opposite the church's main altar. Traditionally the narthex ...

with carved stonework was added. Two carved columns with elaborately carved capitals came from an older church. The church was decorated by Grigorios Papamalis in 1940. Due to its small population, the village never had a community school. Its children attended schools in the nearby villages

and Varos. In 1910, a beautiful school was built in a prominent spot at the expense of Dimitrios G. Makris, a businessman in

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

. He also restored the village aqueduct.

References

External links