EU and UNDP complete conservation of historic Cypriot churches

The European Union and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) announced on Thursday that conservation works have been completed at the church of Panagia Chryseleousa in the Kyrenia area and the church of Agios Antonios located in the Morphou area.

“These sites represent the rich cultural heritage of Cyprus, which the European Union will continue to support given the importance of protecting and restoring cultural sites to strengthen the resilience of communities, in an effort to contribute to reunification and sustainable peace in the island,” said Kjartan Björnsson, Deputy Director and Head of the Cyprus Settlement Support Unit at the Directorate-General REFORM of the European Commission.

Both the church of Panagia Chryseleousa and the church of Agios Antonios are important historical monuments. The former was built towards the end of the 19th century, while the latter dates to the 15th century and was the main church of the village.

Each conservation site reflects the cultures behind it as well as an intersection of civilisations, a press release said.

Since 2012, 123 cultural heritage sites island-wide have been conserved, structurally supported, physically protected, or restored by UNDP with financial support from the European Union worth a total of €24.915 million.