History - Culture
My Hot Spots
Stonecutters
The Lemnians stonecutters, who were known artisans of the stone, left excellent samples of their art in Myrina and the villages of the island. The stone from the village Romanou, was very popular as well as its stonecutters, for temples, columns, and bell towers .After the war, most of the stonecutters of Limnos have turned to agriculture for a living and later, the brick and the cement replaced stone as the island's main building material.
The millers of sesame
The inhabitants in Limnos used to cultivate sesame systematically, which was the raw material for tahini and halva. In the summer the farmers mowed the plant by hand, sifted the wrist and bring it to the sesame mills.
Traditional sesame mills are preserved in Varos and Lichna, while some parts of an old mill are preserved in Kontopouli.
Sericulturists
The sericulturists of Limnos, until the beginning of 20th century, were engaged with the breeding of silkworms for the production of silk.
The whole process was a family affair, the workshop where they reared the vermin was the home of the sericulturist while women had the main duty to feed with mulberry leaves and raise the larva, until the ' silkworm ' give the cocoon with the valuable thread.
Gradually the mulberry trees became fewer on the island and the silk was replaced by the cotton and recently by synthetic fabrics.
Barrel makers
The barrel makers in Limnos used to make handmade waterproof wooden barrels for the wine makers.
Today, the profession of the barrel maker has become extinct in Limnos, as French oak barrels replaced the handmade ones in the cellars of the island’s wineries.
