Handria
Encyclopedia
Chandria is a village in Cyprus
in the Limassol
administrative district and belongs to the Pitsilia group of villages. Chandria [Χανδριά], also written as Handria or Khandria, is the second highest village in Cyprus after Prodromos at an elevation
of 1,275 m (4,180 ft).
Visitors can also visit the Byzantine
church of Archangel Michael (St. Michael).
Villagers work in small orchards in the surrounding valleys, tending walnut, apple, pear, peach and other fruit-bearing trees. Vines and almond trees are cultivated on the slopes of the mountain.
The local hero of the village is Stylianos Lenas
, who died in battle against the British colonial rulers during the 1955-1959 resistance. A considerable number of the village's men who took part were members of EOKA
, the anti-colonial organisation, which fought for the expulsion of British
troops from the island.
The local football club of the village is named after the local hero.
According to Leronymos Peristianis, and to the testimonies of older members of the village, a communal school operated in a room of the church during the Turkish occupation of Cyprus. The teacher was a monk from Handria who left the monastery of Mesa Potamos after it closed down.
Groups of EOKA guerillas operated within the village area during 1955-59. During the historic ambush of Chandria which took place in March 1956, Christos Chartas from Polystypos was killed in action.
The inhabitants of the village are known for their dedication to national and religious traditions. In 1870 the religious Chandria inhabitants made a donation to Trooditissa Monastery
of a silver-bound bible, one of the holy heirlooms of the Monastery.
Tributaries of the River Limnatis traverse the village area, forming narrow troughs. One such tributary is the Zavos tributary which is used for much of the irrigation in the valleys below the village. Very little land around Handria is suitable for farming, and this has been painstakingly terraced.
The Chandria climate is refreshingly cool in summer and very cold in winter, with a fair amount of rain and snow.
The village stands at the junction linking the villages of Pitsilia that belongs to the Limassol District with those of the Nicosia district. It is two kilometres from Kyperounda, six kilometres from Agros and four kilometres from Polystypos.
There is a great interest in petrologic and structural constraints on the origin of foliated gabbro
near Khandria, on the Troodos Ophiolite. Geology students frequently visit to study the intrusive igneous rocks in the road cuttings of Handria.
Cyprus
Cyprus , officially the Republic of Cyprus , is a Eurasian island country, member of the European Union, in the Eastern Mediterranean, east of Greece, south of Turkey, west of Syria and north of Egypt. It is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.The earliest known human activity on the...
in the Limassol
Limassol
Limassol is the second-largest city in Cyprus, with a population of 228,000 . It is the largest city in geographical size, and the biggest municipality on the island. The city is located on Akrotiri Bay, on the island's southern coast and it is the capital of Limassol District.Limassol is the...
administrative district and belongs to the Pitsilia group of villages. Chandria [Χανδριά], also written as Handria or Khandria, is the second highest village in Cyprus after Prodromos at an elevation
Elevation
The elevation of a geographic location is its height above a fixed reference point, most commonly a reference geoid, a mathematical model of the Earth's sea level as an equipotential gravitational surface ....
of 1,275 m (4,180 ft).
Tourism
The village today attracts some Agrotourism and a lot of the old houses have been restored with assistance from the government. The local restaurants are famous for their traditional local sweet "loukoumades". The visitor can sit and enjoy the Cypriot coffee at the lovely coffee shop at the centre of the village.Visitors can also visit the Byzantine
Byzantine
Byzantine usually refers to the Roman Empire during the Middle Ages.Byzantine may also refer to:* A citizen of the Byzantine Empire, or native Greek during the Middle Ages...
church of Archangel Michael (St. Michael).
Demographics
The population of the village, as estimated in late 2006, is 214. In the middle of the 20th century the population was over 1,000 with a very active primary school. The primary school today is used for camping during the summer months. The limited number of children still at the village use the school at a nearby village, Kyperounta.Economy
Most inhabitants of the village are retired. Most of the economically active inhabitants are employeed in agriculture and the local construction industry. A small minority are civil servants.Villagers work in small orchards in the surrounding valleys, tending walnut, apple, pear, peach and other fruit-bearing trees. Vines and almond trees are cultivated on the slopes of the mountain.
History
According to local legend, during the Venetian period there was a large villa in the part of the village known as Grammata, which belonged to Cardinal Marcus Cornaro, nephew of Queen Caterina Cornaro. Other locations of the area like Vassiliko, Vassilitzi and Netikos indicate that the whole region was his feudal area.The local hero of the village is Stylianos Lenas
Stylianos Lenas
Stylianos Lenas was born in Handria, Cyprus and was a member of EOKA.- Early life :Stylianos Lenas was born into a poor family in Handria. When he finished the local school in his village, he took a job in town. He went to Lero for further studies and when he returned, he opened a shop.- EOKA :He...
, who died in battle against the British colonial rulers during the 1955-1959 resistance. A considerable number of the village's men who took part were members of EOKA
EOKA
EOKA was an anticolonial, antiimperialist nationalist organisation with the ultimate goal of "The liberation of Cyprus from the British yoke". Although not stated in its initial declaration of existence which was printed and distributed on the 1st of April 1955, EOKA also had a target of achieving...
, the anti-colonial organisation, which fought for the expulsion of British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
troops from the island.
The local football club of the village is named after the local hero.
According to Leronymos Peristianis, and to the testimonies of older members of the village, a communal school operated in a room of the church during the Turkish occupation of Cyprus. The teacher was a monk from Handria who left the monastery of Mesa Potamos after it closed down.
Groups of EOKA guerillas operated within the village area during 1955-59. During the historic ambush of Chandria which took place in March 1956, Christos Chartas from Polystypos was killed in action.
The inhabitants of the village are known for their dedication to national and religious traditions. In 1870 the religious Chandria inhabitants made a donation to Trooditissa Monastery
Trooditissa Monastery
Trooditissa Monastery, is situated on the southern slopes of the Troödos Mountains on the island of Cyprus. It is an orthodox monastery dedicated to the Virgin Mary....
of a silver-bound bible, one of the holy heirlooms of the Monastery.
Geography and geology
The village is built on the south side of the Madari mountain at an altitude of 1,275m.Tributaries of the River Limnatis traverse the village area, forming narrow troughs. One such tributary is the Zavos tributary which is used for much of the irrigation in the valleys below the village. Very little land around Handria is suitable for farming, and this has been painstakingly terraced.
Geographical coordinates in decimal degrees (WGS84)
- Latitude : 34.946
- Longitude : 32.996
The Chandria climate is refreshingly cool in summer and very cold in winter, with a fair amount of rain and snow.
The village stands at the junction linking the villages of Pitsilia that belongs to the Limassol District with those of the Nicosia district. It is two kilometres from Kyperounda, six kilometres from Agros and four kilometres from Polystypos.
There is a great interest in petrologic and structural constraints on the origin of foliated gabbro
Gabbro
Gabbro refers to a large group of dark, coarse-grained, intrusive mafic igneous rocks chemically equivalent to basalt. The rocks are plutonic, formed when molten magma is trapped beneath the Earth's surface and cools into a crystalline mass....
near Khandria, on the Troodos Ophiolite. Geology students frequently visit to study the intrusive igneous rocks in the road cuttings of Handria.