HISTORY

Lemythou is situated in one of the highest regions of Cyprus. It is a village of the south Marathasa territory, built like an amphitheatre in a verdant natural environment. It has an average altitude of 1100 metres and is included among the 10 highest villages of Cyprus. It is located at about 65 kilometres north-west of the city of Limassol and about 85 kilometres from the city of Nicosia.

Lemythou receives a very high average, annual rainfall ranging around 900 millimetres. In spite of the high rainfall, the rough and steep terrain of the region does not provide much opportunity for agricultural development. Mainly fruit (apple, cherry, pear, plum, and peach) trees, walnut trees, and some vegetables are cultivated in the village's limited cultivable land, while viniculture is in danger of fading away.

The village is included in the rural development plan of the Marathasa region and has benefited from the improvement of the Lemythou-Kykkos road. Due to the natural environment, winding roads connect Lemithou with Prodromos in the east, Palaiomylos in the south-east, and with the villages Treis Elies and Kaminaria in the south-west. With the completion of the Foini - Agios Dimitrios - Palaiomylos - Lemythou road, which is undergoing widening operations, will offer easy access to the Kykkos Monastery.

Lemythou has gone through great population changes. In 1881 its inhabitants run into 75, increasing to 428 in 1891, decreasing to 418 in 1901, increasing to 473 in 1911, to 518 in 1921, to 637 in 1931, and to 751 in 1946. Afterwards the urban strikes the village, as well as many other mountainous and remote villages, resulting in a decrease of inhabitants down to 669 in 1960, to 433 in 1973, and to 252 in 1982. In the last census of 2001 the inhabitants numbered only 107.

The village was in existence during the Frank domination era and according to Masse Latri it was included among the royal estates. Quite probably, it is even older and built during the Byzantine years.
According to one version the village got its name from the plant "Lemithi" (type of brush grass) that grows in arid places and is known under the name "Andropogon" (scientific name Andropogon gryllus), the offshoots of which are used in the making of packsaddles.
According to another version, the village got its name from its first settler who was named Lemithes because he had a thinly and long beard, resembling the homonymous plant that was then abound in the area.

The village became known throughout Greece because some of the most important prelates of the Patriarchates of the East descended from it. The elementary school of the village was founded in 1867, after a donation by the Metropolitan Bishop of Petra, Meletiou, who hailed from the village.

The establishment of the Mitsis Trade School has been a turning point for the educational matters of the village and also the entire region. The eminent School founded by the great benefactor Demosthenes Mitsis, who hailed from Lemithou, starts operating in 1912. The School operated as an English School, significantly servicing both Lemithou and all of the other villages of the region as well as the more remote communities. The School became sate-owned in 1960 with the independence of Cyprus. Today the School operates as a Senior High School and -recently - a Centre of Environmental Learning.

Lately, as a mountain-resort beneath Troodos, Lemithou has started to develop tourism. It is a base for excursions in the surrounding area, walks in the unique nature trails, cycling and visits to the monasteries of the area around (Kykkos and Trooditissa). For the lovers of skiing, the Ski Centre is only 8 kilometres away from the village.

Several tourists, Cypriots and foreigners, enjoy the natural beauties of the village and its unique antiquities such as the chapel of Agios Theodoros, subject to the Museum of Cyprus and under the protection of UNESCO, and the ancient church of "Panagia Iamatiki"

At the entrance of the village one can find the Themis House that was built in the context of agrotourism, offering comfortable stay throughout the year.