Moudros, Limnos

Greece Greece

Administrative Region : North Aegean
Regional unit : Limnos

Moudros is a coastal village in the homonymous eastern bay of Lemnos. Administratively it belongs to the Municipality of Liemnos of the North Aegean Region (Kallikratis program).

From 1999 to 2010, according to the then administrative division of Greece, it was the seat of the homonymous Municipality. It used to belong to the prefecture of Lesvos.

Prehistory

In the area of Moudros, the settlement begins from the prehistoric years, focusing on the city that was built on the island of Koukonisi. The excavations, which have been started there since October 1992 by the Lemnos archaeologist Christos Boulotis, reveal a great prehistoric center, equivalent to Poliochni and modern with some of its phases.

Koukonisi or "Nissaki", as the people of Moudros usually call it, is a small oval islet located NE of Moudros with an area of about 140 acres and an altitude of 10 m. which often dries up creating a small muddy peninsula. For the uninterrupted road access of the farmers, an elevated cobbled road with two bridges has been constructed for a long time, so that the movement of the sea water is not hindered.

From ancient times, shells of archeological interest have been found inside the island. In 1986-87, students of Moudros High School had collected a number of such shells, which they handed over to the Archaeological Museum of Lemnos. Also, on the low peak of the island called Koukonos, the plow of the farmers often dug up stones from the buried ruins.

Excavations so far have shown that a prosperous settlement developed in Koukonisi with a long, continuous habitation from the Early to the Late Bronze Age. A Mycenaean presence has also been identified in this, which proves the establishment of Greek sexes in Lemnos.

History

Byzantine period
The Temple of the Brigadiers

The name Moudron (the) or Moudros (o) is of unknown origin. The most likely version is that it came from a "mill", a granite rock of solidified lava that existed near the shore and where the sailors tied their ships.

It is mentioned for the first time in the 14th century: in 1355 in a document of the monastery of Meg. Lavra and in 1362 and 1380 in two goldsmiths of John V Palaiologos "on the Lemnos Moudros".

According to an older document, in 1304 the monastery of M. Lavra kept parishioners in the "village of Nera", a location located near Moudros. Apparently, the surrounding area originally belonged to a landowner, who was called Neras and from him it was named "Nera", to end today in the variant Nera or Chlia Nera, a place name that is heard in the ravine located northeast of Paliokastro hill. where there are sources.

In 1362, the great army chief George Astras, "Duke and Head of Lemnos", donated to the monastery of Vatopedi a tower he had built in Moudros and an area of two thousand points (1800 acres) for the creation of a share. The donation was confirmed with a gold bullion by the emperor John V, in which it is noted:

Επεί ο περιπόθητος συμπέθερος της βασιλείας μου μέγας στρατοπεδάρχης κυρ Γεώργιος ο Αστράς ανέφερεν ότι έκτισε πύργον εξ οικείων κόπων και αναλωμάτων περί την νήσον Λήμνον εν τη τοπο-θεσία του Μούδρου, όντινα δη πύργον μετά και γης μοδίων δισχιλίων πλησίον τούτου διακειμένης αποκατέστησα εις Μετόχιον προσκυρώσας και δους αυτό τη εις το Άγιον Όρος του Άθω Μονή του Βατοπεδίου... εγένετο και ο παρών Χρυσόβουλλος λόγος της βασιλείας μου... την δ΄ του παρόντος μηνός... του ςωο΄ έτους [6870 από κτίσεως κόσμου, δηλαδή 1362 μ.Χ.]. Ιωάννης εν Χριστώ τω Θεώ πιστός βασιλεύς και Αυτοκράτωρ των Ρωμαίων ο Παλαιολόγος.

In the three years 1376-79, Ioannis ED was overthrown and exiled by his son Andronikos IV. As soon as he regained the throne, in 1380, the monastery asked for its ownership to be confirmed with a new gold bullion. Meanwhile, the metochion has evolved into a village by residents who moved from other parts of it. The new gold bullion states:

Επεί οι μοναχοί της κατά το Άγιον Όρος του Άθω διακειμένης Μονής... του Βατοπεδίου... παρε-κάλεσαν ίνα... κατέχωσιν εις το εξής... το εις την νήσον Λήμνον χωρίον το Μούδρον καλούμενον, όπερ έχουσιν και μέχρι του νυν μετά πάσης της νομής και περιοχής αυτού και των εκείσε προσκαθημένων έτι τε και του ενεργηθέντος εκείσε παρ’ αυτών πύργου, αλλά δη και μετά των άλλων των εσύστερον μετωκισθησομένων εκείσε παρ’ αυτών από των Μετοχίων αυτών... Δυνάμει του παρόντος Χρυσοβούλλου λόγου της βασιλείας μου καθέξουσιν και νεμηθήσονται οι ειρημένοι Μοναχοί της δηλωθείσης σεβασμ. Μονής του Βατοπεδίου το δηλωθέν χωρίον, το Μούδρον, μετά πάσης της νομής και περιοχής και των δικαίων αυτού... Επεί τούτου ένεκεν εγένετο αυτοίς και ο παρών Χρυσόβουλλος Λόγος της βασιλείας μου... κατά μήνα Μάιον... του ςωπη έτους [6888 από κτίσεως κόσμου, δηλαδή 1380 μ.Χ.]. Ιωάννης εν Χριστώ τω Θεώ πιστός βασιλεύς και Αυτοκράτωρ των Ρωμαίων ο Παλαιολόγος.

Named Le Mudro, the village with the tower is depicted on a map of Buondelmonti, which came to the island between 1410-20. In 1464 the existence of the castle of Moudros is first mentioned, from Kritovoulos to Imbrios and Magno, but logically it must have existed from the time of the first Venetian occupation (1207-1277). The first Venetian commander of Lemnos, Filocalo Navigajioso (1207-1214) fortified the island extensively and logically must have fortified Moudros. In 1275 the commanders of Moudros Ioannis Foskaris and Philokalos Gradenigos lived here.

Perhaps in 1277, with the recapture of the island by the Byzantines, the castle was damaged and for this reason, in 1361-62, George Astras built a tower. Perhaps the Star Tower was once again isolated elsewhere. However, when the Venetians captured Lemnos in 1464, they found a castle built in Moudros and listed it as one of the three most important on the island. The other two were Kotsinos and Paleokastro (Myrina). Refers:

"... sono three buoni castelli chiamandi Cochino, Mudron et Paleo Castron."
In memory of the fallen Russian sailors in 1770

Ottoman period
The Allied Cemetery

In 1470, Lemnos was attacked by 300 sailors of the Turkish fleet of Mahmut Pasha and 70,000 men. The people of Lemnos and the Venetians repulsed them, but the island suffered great damage. Apparently, the muddy fortress was also damaged. In 1477 the Venetians repaired it together with the other fortifications of Lemnos and two years later, in January 1479, after an agreement, they handed over Lemnos to the Ottomans.

A Turkish guard was stationed at the castle of Moudros and was still considered one of the most important on the island for the next two centuries. This is emphasized by most travelers, such as Bordone (1534, Mudro), Porcacchi (1577, Mandro), Rosaccio (1580, El Mudro) and others. In the 16th century, the Turks made extensive repairs to the island's fortifications and logically had to repair the castle of Moudros.

In 1656 the Venetians occupied the island and in the few months that remained they destroyed all its fortifications. In 1680 the traveler Randolph found the castle of Moudros, like the rest of the island, ruined and deserted. On the contrary, Piacenza (1680-85) mentions it as one of the six official forts of Lemnos, but it is not considered reliable, because it probably did not visit the island and records information of others. Possibly some repairs were made, because in 1739 Pococke notes that there is a town to the east, Mandru, with a castle. But now it has declined.

This was the end of the Moudrin Fortress, the ruins of which are now located on the flat top of Paliokastro Hill between Moudros and Roussopoulos. It had an elliptical shape with dimensions of about 100 x 50 meters. Although the hill is only 130 meters high, on the one hand it is suitable for fortification, since its west and south sides are very steep, on the other hand it is an important observatory and has visual contact: to the west to Zemata, to the north to Bournias Bay and in the northeast as far as the beach of Keros and Cape Petsia. Imbros and Samothrace are also distinguished. Therefore, the vigilantes could easily communicate with visual signals (mirrors or fire) with other vigils, which would certainly exist in Kontia, Kotsinos and others.

Piri Reis in the Turkish naval guide of 1521 notes that the Gulf of Mondoros is a good port, suitable for mooring many transport ships. In 1690-95, Vincenzo Coronelli mentions Moudros as one of the four main ports of Lemnos, along with Kontia, Platy and Kotsinos. In 1770 Orloff chose the Gulf and the shores of Moudros to camp, a choice that had tragic consequences for the island. Around the same time, Psarian pirates:

Ποιήσαντες δε αποβάσεις... εκυρίευσαν εξ εφόδου και ηχμαλώτισαν... εις δε την νήσον Λήμνον το Μούντρος και τα πλησιέστερα μέρη αυτού.

In October 1785, Villoison was traveling on one of three French ships anchored in the port of Moudros, which he described as "wonderful." In general, after the orphanages, the reputation of the port of Moudros grows. The French called it the port of Agios Antonios, unknown why. Villoison disembarked and dined in the village, where he writes that he had about 60 miserable huts, as he calls his low stone houses, two windmills, two towers, two temples and a priest.

One hundred years later, in the 1874 census, the village had 211 houses, 4,403 achievements, 185 families and two priests - Athanasios and Apostolos - proof of the development it had experienced in the meantime. The village was built far from the sea. There were only two or three merchant warehouses in the port, which were found brand new by the German Conze in 1858.

In 1854 the village's annual contribution to the metropolitan was set at 1540 eggs, 80 cheeses and 100 pounds. In 1865 the stone fountain was built: "With the assistance of the village of Moudros". In 1889 it has 1,200 inhabitants and is considered the most important settlement of the island after Myrina. In the last years of Turkish rule, Moudros was a municipality with dependent villages and had a post office.
The school

From at least 1852 there was a school, which in 1873 had 40 students, until 1897 it was a four-grade school, then it became a five-grade school and in 1909 a six-grade urban school with about 180 students. In 1903-04, Georgios Kaldis, the later member of parliament for Lesvos, served as director. There he met his wife, Marianthi G. Matsika. As it is known, their daughter Eleftheria became the wife of Elias Iliou.

The temples

In 1835 the church of the Brigadiers "DIA TON EGCHORION MOUDROU" was built It is three-aisled with a later exonarthex, and its wooden iconostasis is said to be a copy of a temple iconostasis of Smyrna.
In 1903-04, the monumental church of Evangelistria was built, in the construction of which the Evangelismos Philadelphia Educational Association of the USA, which was established on this occasion, helped the most. It is a three-aisled basilica with towers in the bell tower and has impressive architectural elements. The epitaph is a gift from Admiral Koundouriotis. The official inauguration of the temple took place on May 12, 1919.
In the area where the church was built, there used to be the metochi of Agia Marina of the monastery of Koutloumousiou, of which the holy table and some buildings are preserved. This move had a tragic end. The Turks burned it along with seven monks when they discovered some Turkish officers dead in a well. Only two monks were rescued, who took refuge in Koutloumousi and complained that the Turks had been killed by locals, in order to incriminate the monks, dismantle the metochion and seize its fields. Then the abbot submitted the village to an honorary one, which was solemnly dissolved just a few years ago.

Moudros the Port.

Newer period
Moudros High School "Argyrios Moschidis"
Balkan Wars - World War I.

In 1912, Moudros became known throughout Greece, when Admiral Koundouriotis made it the base of the fleet during the Balkan wars. During the First World War, it experienced a great deal of movement, as it was the seat of the British military administration. Tens of thousands of soldiers encamped on the surrounding hills towards Koukonisi and Fanaraki. Ports were built in the port - French, Australian, etc. - and it was turned into a naval base to serve the allied fleet that was chartering in the bay.

Also, the southern beach, the so-called "Airport" until today, was formed as a place for landing of seaplanes. Hundreds of dead soldiers in the Gallipoli campaign, mostly Australians and New Zealanders, have been buried in the British cemetery, which is still preserved today. In 1918 the village gained worldwide fame when the Treaty of Moudros was signed between Turkey and the Allies.
In memory of Lemnos's contribution during World War I.

Interwar

During the interwar years, the village experienced a period of economic development with a focus on its port, from which 85% of the production of Lemnian products was exported. In fact, in the period 1920-28, Limin Moudrou was recognized as a separate settlement.

In 1937, 370 tons of legumes, 203 tons of grain, 85 tons of sesame seeds, 38 tons of cotton, 25 thousand eggs, 137 large animals and 1,549 small ones were exported. At the same time, significant imports of flour, fertilizers and general trade items were made (967 tons were imported in 1937).

Passenger ships, boats of wealthy travelers driven by world fame and various war supplies were seized at the port. There was daily bus service to the capital by Taurus bus, while at the airport the water planes of the Italian company Aeroespresso were parked on their way to Istanbul at least since 1926.

In the village there were fishing factories, cotton ginning plants and fava processing. It was the seat of a police and port station, customs, telegraph office, post office and notary. However, in 1918 it was downgraded to a community by the Greek administration, which has been a permanent complaint of the Moudrinis for decades.

After 1922, 462 refugees settled in Moudros. A new district, the Settlement, was created, increasing the population to 1,795 in 1928 and about 2,500 in 1938. The picture is also reflected in the student population, as 140 students in 1920 became 290 in 1924 and by 1940 it was stable. over 300. A new majestic school was built for their housing in 1928-31, which now houses the Technical High School. Themistoklis Evangelou-Vassiliadis (1896-1932) and Emmanouil Karkalemis (1932-55) offered long-term service at the school.

In 1937, a pharmacy was founded by Panagiotis Raftopoulos, which operated until 1956, as well as the Agricultural Credit Cooperative. There was social life and the "Progressive Association of Evangelism", the "Association of Refugees and Mutual Aid", the "Union of Reserves of Moudros", which organized dance parties and other events.

In 1926, the football club "Hephaestus" was founded, one of the first in Lemnos, which formed the stadium near the port as a venue and gave matches with the crews of foreign ships. Later, the "Teenager" is mentioned, whose footballers in 1930 founded the Gymnastics Association "Aris" that still exists today.

Post-war period

After the war, for a while, Moudros became a place of exile for the left. In "Cantata for Macronissos", Giannis Ritsos refers to "our dog Dick, of the Moudros team, who was killed by the gendarmes, because he loved the exiles very much".

The permanent population of the village gradually decreased due to immigration. From 1981 until today it has stabilized at around 1000 people but in the summer they almost triple. There has been a recovery in the last two decades. Founded: high school, general and vocational high school, polyclinic, veterinary clinic, there are pharmacies, bank branches, shops of all kinds, hotels, rooms for rent and operates a cultural association with remarkable action that culminates with the summer events "Koundouriotia".

Since 1998, the village has been the seat of the homonymous Municipality with Costas Adamidis as its first mayor. Also operating in Athens is the "Cultural Association of Moudarini Everywhere" which publishes the newspaper The Voice of Moudros since 1983, which in 2000 was renamed the Voice of Moudrini. In general, the village has a remarkable commercial, tourist and cultural movement.

Bibliography

Tourptsoglou-Stefanidou Vassiliki, "Travel and geographical texts for the island of Lemnos (15th-20th century)", Thessaloniki 1986.
Cdrom District of Lemnos: "Lemnos beloved".
Th. Belitsou, Lemnos and its villages, 1994.
Theod. Belitsou, "Historical journey to Lemnos: Moudros", ed. Lemnos f. 463 (6-2-2007) and 465 (21-2-2007).
"LIMNOS: Historical & Cultural Heritage", published by G. Konstantellis, 2010.

Moudros, Winter

Moudros, Taxiarchon Church

Moudros Gymnasium

Municipal unit Moudros
Municipal Community Moudros
Κουκονήσιο, το (νησίς)
Moudros (Μούδρος, ο)
Community Kalliopi
Kalliopi (Καλλιόπη, η)
Community Kaminia
Voroskopos (Βοροσκόπος, ο)
Kaminia (Καμίνια, τα)
Community Kontopouli
Agios Alexandros (Άγιος Αλέξανδρος, ο)
Agios Theodoros (Άγιος Θεόδωρος, ο)
Kontopouli (Κοντοπούλιον, το)
Community Lychna
Anemoessa (Ανεμόεσσα, η)
Lychna (Λύχνα, τα)
Community Panagia
Kortisonas (Κορτισώνας, ο)
Panagia (Παναγία, η)
Community Plaka
Plaka (Πλάκα, η)
Community Repanidi
Kotsinas (Κότσινας, ο)
Repanidi (Ρεπανίδιον, το)
Community Roussopouli
Roussopouli (Ρουσσοπούλιον, το)
Community Romano
Romano (Ρωμανόν, το)
Community Skandali
Skandali (Σκανδάλιον, το)
Community Fisini
Agia Sofia (Αγία Σοφία, η)
Fisini (Φισίνη, η)