Agios Konstantinos, Samos

Early photographs of Agios Konstantinos from around 1900 help reveal the architecture dating as far back as 1800. These photographs typically show Agios Konstantinos as a stretch of beachfront houses near a pebble beach close to the water. The houses are mostly dual-level, but a few are single-level. Evident also in the styling is a Near East influence reflecting the close proximity to Asia Minor.

Early houses were typically built on a prepared stone ground layer that allowed construction of a rectangular stone perimeter for external walls with openings for doors and windows. For a dual-level home the lower and upper levels were segmented using parallel beams the width of the house covered with boards to establish the lower level ceiling and the upper level floor. To partition rooms interior wooden walls were prepared and covered with narrow horizontal wooden strips and then in plaster. The window opening had ledges prepared from lightweight materials such as boards coated with plaster, then dressed with wooden panels with two or four folds for opening and closing. Balconies and glass were generally absent since the harsh weather from the sea and the fragile materials then available prevented these. The upper level was then finished once more using beams to form a second ceiling but instead covered with roof titles.

The lower level of early houses could serve one of several purposes including storage for produce or equipment, an animal pen, or as a shop such as cafe, goods shop, tailor shop, shoe shop, etc. The upper level served for sleeping, cooking and living space. Access to the upper level was by a staircase, which could be either external or internal.

Later homes built after the union with Greece (1912) are often found in the second row from the sea behind the beachfront homes. These are found constructed using similar methods to the beachfront homes, but some are with small central balconies and generally have a more neoclassic appearance which was popular in many Greek cities and larger towns in the interwar period, as can be seen in nearby Karlovasi. Earlier buildings were also often updated to reflect the newer styling.

Behind the beachfront row homes often found is a garden or farm plot used to provide fresh produce for the adjacent houses. This however, typically does not include grapevines since these were instead usually grown in estates outside the settlement. During periods of intensive agrarian activity small lodges called ‘Kalyvia’ outside the main settlements were often used by field workers and farmers for temporary accommodation. Closer to or within the village however are found wineries as well other light industry buildings such as olive oil mills.

Reflecting Agios Konstantinos origins as a commercial port is that it is one of the few Greek villages without a central square that helps focus the village including development. Instead cafes, and more recently taverns and bars, are established scattered along the beachfront. An enlarged space in front of the main church Agios Ioannis (Saint John) is a relatively recent inclusion. As Agios Konstantinos developed into a habitable settlement, protection from the sea was necessary and the beachfront was increasingly fortified with rocks, rubble and concrete. With time these widened and spread along the length of the beach into a functional promenade along the sea, which by 1970 joined a road accessing the forest on the eastern side of the village.

On the western end of the promenade is a substantial concrete and stone pier which was prepared for mooring fishing boats. The pier provides additional protection from the sea complementing the promenade.