Kontos Mansion

Kontos Residence is a magnificent neoclassical building of significant architectural value, located on the road from Volos to Tsagarada, at the entrance of Ano Lechonia village. Known as «the haunted house», the mansion is surrounded by urban myths that even reach the limits of the supernatural.

Το Αρχοντικό Κοντού είναι ένα μεγαλοπρεπές κτίσμα νεοκλασικού ρυθμού, σημαντικής αρχιτεκτονικής αξίας, που βρίσκεται στο δρόμο Βόλου - Τσαγκαράδας, στην είσοδο του χωριού Άνω Λεχώνια. Γνωστό και ως «το στοιχειωμένο», το αρχοντικό περιβάλλεται από αστικούς μύθους που αγγίζουν ακόμα και τα όρια του υπερφυσικού.

The family did not get the chance to enjoy their mansion, as three of their four children contracted tuberculosis and passed away. However, the social perceptions of the time did not allow a wealthy family to be stained with such a disgraceful disease. Thus, they allowed two legends to arise: the first that the three children were poisoned by gecko that fell into their milk, and the second that the maid of the house poisoned the children so that other relatives would inherit their fortune. The gecko legend was further reinforced by the family marble tomb in the cemetery of Volos. It was decorated with a table, a jug with a carved gecko, and three chairs with the names of the dead children of the family.

Various terrible incidents continued to haunt the mansion for many years until its final abandonment. For example, during World War II, the building was occupied by the Nazis who used it as a headquarters where Greek warriors were interrogated, tortured and executed. Also, in the following years, several misfortunes befell the other families who lived in the mansion too. Many locals have claimed that at night the voices of the souls who lost their lives there can be heard from the mansion.