The Konstamonitou monastery it is built in a forest ,200 meters above the sea level,50 minutes walk from the coast.
The Konstamonitou monastery it is built in a forest , 200 meters above the sea level, 50 minutes walk from the coast.
According the tradition it was founded by Great Konstantine and it was integrated by his son Konstas.Another tradition states that the monastery was built by a hermit who was born in Castamona of Paflagonia. According to the historical sources, it was built in the 11th century. At the beginning of the 14th century it was burned by the Catalans but it was soon rebuilt.
In 1351, emperor Ioannis Paleologos the first defined the monastery’s land.In 1360, princess Anne the Philanthropist of Serbia and George Vrancovits gave many donations to the monastery.
Later on it was burned but it was renovated in 1433,by Serbia’s commander in chief Radits who became a monk there with the name Romanos.In the 16th century the monastery became cenobetic. In 1820,with a donation from the wife of Ali Pasha, Basiliki, it was built another part of the monastery. In 1870,the main temple and a wing were rebuilt by contributions from Russia.
Today, there are 5 chapels in the monastery. The library contains 110 manuscripts.
The treasure collection contains wood from the Holy Cross, the miraculous icons of Odigitria and Antiphonitria, several documents etc.
