Armenistis: The legendary lighthouse of Mykonos

Armenistis: The legendary lighthouse of Mykonos and the history of a Vampire! It was created on the occasion of a shipwreck, “connected” to a vampire, however it was a modern machine for its time, which was even awarded at an exhibition in Paris and today is unquestionably one of the top attractions of the island. It is the Lighthouse of Mykonos.

It is located in the homonymous area Fanari on a hill that was formerly called Vourvoulakas, meaning vrykolakas (vampire). We will explain why later. In a unique location, Armenistis, the Lighthouse of Mykonos, is a pole of attraction for visitors from all over the world for the unique view from the spot, but also its history.

Let us takes things from the beginning.

In 1890 the Armenistis Lighthouse was decided and built by Sauttter-Lemonnier, who was equipped with the most modern lighting machine of the time, which had been exhibited and awarded a year earlier, at the Paris International Exhibition.

Armenistis: The legendary lighthouse of Mykonos

The Shipwreck and the creation of the Armenistis

Armenistis was actually built after a shipwreck, in order to avoid similar incidents in the future. It was 1887, when the English steamboat “Volta” crashed into rocks and finally sank. The ship was sailing in the narrow passage of Tinos and Mykonos which was quite dark. Fog prevailed, with the result that the two peaks, “Profitis Elias Vorniotis” and “Anomeritis”, looked like land separated by sea. The captain of the ship led it to the supposed sea and the ship hit the rocks. Of course there were victims from the incident. There were 11 crew members who drowned. Thus, the construction of a Lighthouse was then necessary.

In 1890 the Armenistis Lighthouse was decided and built by Sauttter-Lemonnier, who was equipped with the most modern lighting machine of the time, which had been exhibited and awarded a year earlier, at the Paris International Exhibition.

At the end of the 19th century, we were in the “explosion” of the industrial revolution, when new inventions and new methods appeared, with relevant exhibitions being organized all over the world. The Armenistis Lighthouse was presented at the great international exhibition of 1889 that took place in Paris, when, for the sake of impression and originality, the Eiffel Tower was created.

The building, in addition to the mechanism, had rooms for the lighthouse keepers, a kitchen, a toilet, auxiliary spaces and an internal cistern. Its height is 19 meters and its focal height is 184. “In Armenistis there were various lighthouse keepers, who took shifts to make some extra money. The times were poor then. It was one of the largest lighthouses in the Aegean and one of the oldest in Greece. It operated with the energy of the sun, due to
the fact that at that time there was no electricity and it was extremely strong”, explains the Mykonian Dimitris Koutsoukos to the Mykonos Post.

“In Armenistis there were several lighthouse keepers, who took shifts so they could make a little extra. The years were poor back then.” -Dimitris Koutsoukos

The lighthouse operated from 1891 to 1983. Since then, until today, its original mechanism is located in the garden of the Maritime Museum of Mykonos, which is housed in a traditional Cycladic building of the 19th century, in the center of Mykonos, at Tria Pigadia and is open to the public.

Armenistis: The legendary lighthouse of Mykonos

The lighthouse as an observatory of the Germans and the Greek-German friendship

During World War II, the Germans captured Armenistis and turned him into an observatory, taking advantage of its strategic position. After the end of the war, German officers leaving the lighthouse were arrested by a group of young people from Mykonos.

It was a group called “Air”. “Kostas Zouganelis, whose father was also a lighthouse keeper at the Lighthouse, with his team (Nikos Polykandriotis, Dimitris Bertos, Nikos Fiorentinos, Theodoros Kontouris, Eleftherios Asimomytis, Michalis Kousathanas, Dimitris Stais, Chaniotis).

Years later, one of them sent a letter to Zouganelis, saying that he was looking for the boys who had arrested him because as a prisoner he did not return to the battlefield and thus his life was saved, as he would normally continue his service on the Eastern Front, where Thousands of Germans lost their lives. Zouganelis answered him and a short time later the two men met” says Mr. Koutsoukos.

Zouganelis and his company went down in history on the occasion of their achievement and in fact many years later, this incident became the occasion for a true friendship between the German officer and Costas Zouganelis, who in fact served as Mayor of Mykonos in 1974.

By Georgia Perimeni

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