Women's monastery dedicated to the Dormition of the Virgin, 1 km NW of Valtetsinikos. The monastery is surrounded by a magnificent landscape overgrown with firs, cedars and maples. The catholicon was built between the end of the 16th c. and the beginning of the 17th century, in a difficult time, when the Turks did not give permission for the construction of churches and it has undergone several exterior modifications, both the catholicon and the monastery's precinct.
The exterior of the Catholic church is not architecturally interesting, but it preserves beautiful hagiographies of great historical and artistic value on the iconostasis and in the main church. The exact time of painting, as well as its creator, remain unknown. However, many hagiographies have recently undergone special conservation.
The entrance door to the church is low, perhaps to prevent the Turks from riding into the temple.
The monastery has been renovated 4 times, in the years 1736, 1773, 1820 and 1826. The monastery was dissolved by the royal decree of 1833 which provided for the closure of monasteries that had less than 6 monks (in that period a total of 240 monasteries were closed). From time to time the monastery was reopened by some monks. In 1955, two nuns settled in the monastery, who renovated the church and built new buildings.
The church celebrates the Fifteenth of August with a festival, so many people gather from the surrounding villages to worship the Virgin Mary "Valtesiniotissa" as they call her. From long ago, the inhabitants consider this humble church of Panagia as an ancestral heritage and a divine gift.
The location of the monastery offers a wonderful view towards the peaks of Erymanthos and Helmos, Strezoviko, Lastovouni, Glogovitiko and Kalavrytochoria.
Source: UNIVERSITY OF PATRAS
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