Church of Saint John the Baptist in Kontias

The Church of Saint John the Forerunner in Kontias is the village’s oldest, dating to the 16th century. Its architecture resembles a fortress rather than a church, with loopholes and cannons added to defend against the era’s pirate raids. The old icons preserved inside give the church the value of an ecclesiastical museum, attracting visitors since the 1970s. The area’s strategic importance is confirmed by Piri Reis’s navigation guide (1521), which mentions the “Old Castle of Kontea,” one of Lemnos’s most important forts in the Middle Ages and under Ottoman rule. Today, the small yet imposing church of Saint John the Forerunner stands as a living monument that combines the spiritual dimension of worship with the historical memory of the island’s defensive tradition.