CULTURE OF NORTHERN EVIA
For many people, holidays are not only a chance to relax, but also a reason to get to know and travel through the history of their host country. Evia, which was inhabited by the Avantes during the Bronze Age, has a rich history, which the local community is trying to communicate and highlight.
Museum of Petrified Mammals of Kerasia
In the semi-mountainous village of Kerasia, which is about 90 km from Chalkida and at an altitude of 560 meters, is the Museum of Petrified Mammals.. It houses impressive findings collected during the Palaeontological excavations in the area from 1992 to 2006. The presence of fossil mammals in Kerasia has been known since the 1960s-1970s. In 1986 the first brief excavations were carried out by Lecturer Konstantinos Doukas of the University of Athens, in collaboration with the University of Utrecht.
Museums at Limni
Limni, apart from being a wonderful place overlooking the Gulf of Evia, knows how to respect its history and culture. Whether you stay in the village or are passing through, don’t forget to visit three beautiful museums and collections.
First is the Collection of Traditional Costumes of Greece of Mr. Andreas Peris. In a traditional house, the visitor will have the opportunity to see and admire dozens of traditional costumes from every part of the country. Mr. Kalinteris will guide you through the museum while explaining in detail the characteristics of each costume, from the 19th to the middle of the 20th century.
Continuing your walk through the passageways of Limni, you will meet the Historical and Folklore Museum, housed in a warm and welcoming mansion built around 1880.
There you will see, among other things, the portrait of Angelis Govios, as well as other prominent Limnians, a winter living room, where the noblewomen used to spend their days embroidering and knitting with the copaneli, the traditional ornate Limniotes bobbins, indicative traditional men’s and women’s costumes with their accessories and other folklore objects.
The largest room on the ground floor is home to the Limni’s Archaeological Collection, which operates under the supervision of the 11thEphorate of Preclassical and Classical Antiquities of Evia.
Walking along the floor, one can distinguish significant sections of Roman period mosaics from the area of “Panagitsa”.
Also, the museum houses findings of the early Christian period, tombs, marble parts of statues, and coins of Roman, Classical, and Archaic times, as well as a cluster of vases from the Mycenaean era and many of the later years.
The Taurus of Oreoi
In the port of Oreoi, you will see one of the most beautiful works of the ancient Greek world, the Taurus of Oreoi, a life-size relief depicting a bull on the attack.
The Taurus of Oreoi was unearthed in 1965 during the expansion works of the harbour and its dimensions are 3.20 metres long, 1.30 metres high and 1.15 metres wide. It weighs approximately 4.8 tons and is made of white Pendelian marble. It dates back to the 4th century BC and was probably made in an Attic workshop. Preferably, visit it at night, when the work is also illuminated by wonderful lighting.
Museum of Asia Minor Culture
Next to the magnificent church of Saint John the Russian, there is an equally important museum, that of Asia Minor Culture. Inside it are exhibited sacred relics, brought by refugees from Prokopi in Asia Minor after the Asia Minor disaster and the implementation of the Treaty of Lausanne. Among them are holy gospels and icons, holy chalices, and wedding crowns. We copy the words of the Bishop of Chalkida and President of the Board of Directors of the Holy Shrine, Chrysostomos, to highlight the importance of the museum. “Here, therefore, my dear and welcomed visitor, you do not see merely preserved objects and examples of a worthy civilization, which, among other things, recall important historical events. Here you stand in front of a statement from the heart. For its understanding, it is certainly not enough to know or study history and the study of archaeology, and art. Here, a different approach is required and sought in this place, which is an extension of the House of God, the Holy Temple of Saint John”.
