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Agios Nikon

COUNTY: Messinia MUNICIPALITY: West Mani

Clouds
13.53ºC

Population

0 - 100

Distance from nearest city

10-35km

TL;DR

Visit the beautiful Agios Nikon little village with its many interesting churches decorated with impressive frescoes.

Agios Nikon is a beautiful hamlet of 80 inhabitants built on the slopes of Taygetos at 400m with an incredible view over the Messenian bay. It is located in the boundaries of Messenian and Laconian Mani. Formerly, it was called Poliana (a Slavic word that means clearing, a flat land that used to be grassland before being inhabited). In 1929, according to tradition, saint Nikon the Penitent lived in a cave and during the second half of the 10th century he converted many Maniots to Christianism; thus, the name Agios Nikon village.

It was created at the beginning of the 18th century and several interesting churches enhance the natural beauty of the village, such as Osios Nikon church and the church of Apostolon Petros and Pavlos (originally, a catholicon of a monastery), the church of Metamorphosis Sotiros (the Transfiguration of Christ) built by saint Nikon himself, according to tradition, in the main square, and the church of Koimisis Theotokos (Dormition of the Mother of God) of 1866 in the cemetery with impressive frescoes.