On Wednesday, February 21, a serious emergency occurred in Limassol. A large fire broke out in the morning at about 11:30 a.m. in the historic center of the city, seriously damaging an abandoned mansion, listed as a unique architectural monument of Cyprus.
According to preliminary reports, the building was set on fire by homeless people. Eyewitnesses claim that at the moment of the fire four men ran out of the mansion, who are now being sought by the police.
For several hours, emergency workers tried to put out the fire and prevent the fire from spreading to neighboring buildings, which are also of historical value to Limassol. However, due to the narrow streets of the old town, the access of firefighting equipment to the scene was very difficult. Despite all efforts, the building completely burned down the second floor, collapsing floor and ceiling. The mansion itself is now unlikely to be restored.
Recall, that the house, built in the late XIX century, was one of the main attractions of Limassol.
The large and majestic building served as a model of aesthetics, which was previously characteristic of the wealthiest members of Cypriot high society. The owner of the mansion was the merchant Michalis Gavriilidis or Hadjigavriilidis, one of the richest men in Cyprus at the end of the 19th century. His fortune was estimated at 175 thousand pounds and his annual income exceeded 11 thousand pounds.
In 1922 he gave a luxurious mansion in classical style to his only daughter Krystallia as a wedding dowry. Krystallia married the famous businessman Pavlos Pavlidis, who owned an equally impressive house a few meters away from his young wife's house. In addition to the typical elements of Renaissance architecture, the mansion had an unusual staircase that soared over the garden and led from the main building to the roof terrace of an outbuilding on the west side of the house.
From the mid-1930s the owners of this rather large dwelling rented out some of its rooms as offices for various companies. The mansion was then handed over to the Limassol Municipality, which used it to house some of its services until 2005. Eventually, the house was abandoned. This is most likely what led to the sad consequences.
