Another castle which was built by the knights of the Order of Saint John in the 14th century. This one was built in the interior of the island of Kos, away from the sea. A remarkable thing about this big castle is that it had no towers. The big round bastion in the gate was built in the early 16th century.

History

According to the chronicle of the knights, the castle was built in the period that the Grand Master of the order of St. John was Hélion de Villeneuve. That means that it was built sometime between 1322 and 1346.

The highlight of the castle’s history was the siege by the Ottomans in 1457 when 15 knights and 200 locals repelled the attack of 16000 Turks who eventually were forced to leave.

A big earthquake in 1493 destroyed the castle almost completely but it was rebuilt later. The Grand Master del Carretto (1513-21) ordered the construction of the huge semi-cicular bastion to protect the gate.

The Ottoman army used the castle as a military base until 1871. The local population had left it earlier in the 19th century. After that, the castle remained abandoned.

Structure, Fortification & Buildings

The perimeter of the castle is 970m and the total area is 26,250 m2

Sources