Panagia Church, Archanes
The church of Virgin Mary (Panagia) in Archanes dates from the Venetian period. The church houses a collection of relics and icons.
About this building
There are several popular stories about this church. The first, about its foundation, tells that a little girl called Maria saw a light that pointed to the place where an icon of the Virgin Mary was located. Another story tells that the Ottomans gave the locals permission to build a church only if they could finish it in one night. The church could not be finished, the villagers asked for an extension and got one more night, but were forbidden to use any water. In view of this condition, everyone went to milk their goats and they were able to finalise the building.
