Few remains of a small Frankish castle on a coastal hill near the village Stoupa of Messinia.

The Name of the Castle

According to the Chronicle of Moreas, the castle was named Lefftro or Lefktro by the Greeks and Beufort (meaning “beautiful fort”) by the Franks. Obviously it was a beautiful construction in comparison with other Frankish castles in Peloponnese.

The Greek version of the chronicle refers also to the castle as Castle of Gisterna (meaning “castle of the Cistern”). Gisterna of Kinsterna was supposed to be the name of the territory around modern Stoupa, but this is not very clear nor certain.

History

The hill was inhabited at least since the Mycenaean era. In the ancient classical period, here was the location of the ancient acropolis of the Doric city Lefktron.

In the Middle Ages, a castle was built on the hill by the Prince of Achaea Guillaume II de Villehardouin in order to control the sea port and the Slavic tribes of the western slopes of Taygetos mountain.

The construction of the castle finished early in the 1250s. In 1259, in the battle of Pelagonia Guillaume was defeated by the Byzantines of Nicea and taken prisoner. He was released after 3 years, in 1262, after agreeing to surrender some castles to the Byzantines, including the castle of Lefktron. It is not absolutely certain that the Byzantines took the castle in 1262 (as some parts of this narrative are disputed) but this happened anyway; if not in 1262, a few decades later.

In 1460 the Ottomans conquered Mystras and Peloponnese but Lefktron became a Venetian possession for a while until 1479 and the defeat of the Venetians in the 1st Turko-Venetian war.

Apparently, the castle was not used for military purposes during the Turkish period, but it must have been inhabited (not by Greeks).

Structure, Fortification & Buildings

This is a relatively small castle. The fortification extends on an area less than 2000 sq.m. and its perimeter is around 185m.

It is totally ruined. We can trace the position of the gate and the foundations of a building that was probably the keep or the mansion of the lord.

Sources