Panagia Krimniotissa, the church on the rock

Legend says that there are 999 chapels and churches scattered about the island. Panagia Krimniotissa (or Kremniotissa) is probably the most beautiful of them all, and seeing the sunset from here will definitely become one of the many fond memories of your holiday in Samothraki.

As you start from the port of Kamariotissa towards the south of the island, a few kilometers before reaching the beach of Pachia Ammos, you'll see a church perched on top of a rock. An arrow to the left will show you the way. The dirt road, built in the 80s, is not good by any means, but it's passable. Once every few years it's leveled and most of the potholes are plugged. After two kilometers, you'll find yourself 311 meters above sea level.

An amazing panorama opens to the right. A few hundred meters below lies the beach of Pachia Ammos bathed by the seemingly infinite blue waters of the Aegean Sea and the silhouette of Gokceada island (the old Greek Imvros) peeks over the horizon. By the way, did you know that in Samothraki there's a taverna called "Neverending Blue" (Aperando Galazio)? It's in Lakkoma, on the shore, near Taverna Akrogiali.

At the end of the road, there's a wider section with room for a few cars and a small taverna with a view. Fifty steps carved in stone take you to the churchyard. After two years of being closed, in June 2023, the tavern was reopened by the wife of the priest of Lakkoma. Fortunately, this coincided with the rehabilitation of the road.

The white church is at the top of the stairs in a small well-kept garden. The bell hangs from a tree, and a wooden bench can serve as a resting place.

Most likely, the word Krimniotissa comes from gkremnos, meaning "abyss", so an approximate translation would be "The Virgin from atop the abyss".

The inscription on the church mentions that it was built in 1887. Some documents seem to indicate that it was built on top of an older construction. It was renovated in 1999 after being damaged by a fire.

It's not surprising that an iconic place like this has many legends surrounding it. One of them tells the tale of a shepherd's son who found the icon on the rock. People would attempt to bring it to the church in Chora but always failed. The icon kept returning to the spot it was found. The child always lit a candle by it, asking for protection for his flock so the locals started to believe that the reason why the icon appeared atop of the rock in this remote area was to protect the goat herds. Old stories from Samothraki speak about two tribes of savages who lived around the Vatos River and who caused trouble for the shepherds whose animals were grazing in the area. Panagia Krimniotissa supposedly rid the shepherds of the danger of the savages.

Another version of the legend tells of some fishermen who found the icon on the beach and put it in a cave to protect it. The icon disappeared and was later found by the shepherds on top of the rock. They brought it back to the cave on the beach, but it vanished yet again only to reappear on the peak. The miracle repeated several times - no matter where it was moved, it came back to the mountain. Finally, people understood that they needed to build a shelter for it and carved fifty steps into the rock and erected the church.

A third story mentions a ship that almost sank during a storm in the 18th century near Samothraki. The tempest only stopped when the captain found an icon in the water. The following night, Virgin Mary showed herself in a dream and told him to take the icon to the island. Apparently, the icon was thrown in the water centuries before during the iconoclasm period to spare it from destruction. The priest of Samothraki put it in a church, but as with the other legends, the icon would magically appear on top of the rock. The locals finally understood the Virgin's wish and built a chapel on that peak. Later it was given the name Panagia Krimniotissa.

The exact date when the icon was brought into the church is unknown. Some believe that it can perform miracles and pray to it in difficult times. The old ladies call it lovingly "Grandma Krimniotissa". In the past, the icon was kept in the church on the rock between Easter and Saint Demetrios (26th October) and then moved to Chora. In the past, every family would be able to keep it for one night and pray to it.

The icon is kept today in the Church of Chora. The old custom is still kept and the icon is brought to all the houses on the island so that the elderly and sick can pray to it.

The celebration of Panagia Krimniotissa is on the 18th of August.