With the castle towering over the old harbor, which is well preserved on the island, only the fortress of Famagusta competes. We are talking about an amazing architectural structure called Kyrenia Castle (Cyprus), built in the 16th century by the Venetians. At its base, fortifications left over from the crusaders were used.
Let us dwell in more detail on this historic site, which is a unique evidence of the past times of part of Cyprus. The Kyrenia castle has an amazingly rich history.
Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus
This is a small state located in the northern part of the island of Cyprus. It is recognized only by Turkey. Until now, the Government of the Republic of Cyprus remains the only recognized international authority on Fr. Cyprus.
The population of the TRNC is more than 294 thousand people, the area - 3 355 square meters. km Most of the population is ethnic Turks. Greeks and Lebanese (Maronites) also live here. The capital is the city of Nicosia, and Famagusta is considered the administrative center.
Kyrenia
At one time, city-states played a very important role in the history of Cyprus. One of them is the city of Kyrenia, located on the territory of the still not fully recognized Northern Cyprus. The local Turkish population calls him Girne.
This is a small town with an amazing history. Its streets are like a museum under the open clear sky. Here, absolutely everything attracts attention: shutters of houses, doors, walls, patterned gratings, flowers in pots and much more. But the most interesting among all is the historical castle.
In these beautiful places in the famous harbor is one of the architectural monuments - the magnificent Kyrenia Castle. On the map you can see the location of amazing Kyrenia in Cyprus.
Brief History
It is believed that the castle was built by the Byzantines around the 700s of our era to protect the city from raids by Arabs. That is, on the site of this building was a small Romanesque fortress.
In 1191, the palace of the self-proclaimed king (Cyprus Isaac Comnenus) was captured by Guy de Lusignan. At that time, the former ruler himself, having left his wife and daughter in Kyrenia, was hiding in the castle of Kantara. The latter also played an important role during the reign of the Lusignans and changed greatly after numerous restoration work.
Kyrenia Castle on the orders of the Lusignans in 1208-1211 was significantly expanded by J. Ibelin. As a result of all the work on its territory, there was also the St. George Chapel (a 12th-century building), new towers were built in the corners, the royal residence and the main entrance.
Kyrenia Castle for a long time fulfilled its functions during the reign of the Venetians. It should be noted that most of what is now represented on its territory was done by the Venetians.
Description
The architectural structure is quite well preserved, although the walls here were erected even during the Roman Empire.
Outwardly, it differs from all other castles in the round towers. In those days when the Venetians captured Cyprus, they began to strengthen and expand the walls of the palace to protect themselves from the Turks. The castle is surrounded by a moat filled with water and also served as an important part of the fortifications for defense.
The courtyard housed a chapel (XII century), a curious historical shipwreck museum with exposed fragments of an ancient ship (VI century BC) and a museum of torture.
At the very entrance to the castle is the tomb of Admiral Sadik Pasha (Algeria), who captured Kyrenia in 1570 AD.
The courtyard also contains the remains of the ancient castle de Lusignan. They represent stone balls in size like soccer balls. They may be nuclei, but most likely they are parts of some unexplained mechanisms, because the stone is too heavy material for the nuclei.
Kyrenia - the third and oldest castle of the Byzantine period from the few remaining from those ancient times.
The remains of the aforementioned Byzantine church of St. George, which the Templars built around the 1170s, are also represented here. You can get there from the northwest gate through a closed passage. More recently, the dome of the temple with marble columns was restored.
Features
Kyrenia Castle has remarkable external features. As noted above, these are round-shaped towers built by the Venetians.
These were times when the army relied only on archers and knights. Guns, artillery, gunpowder at that time were still being developed, and therefore the castle walls were expanding and strengthening.
Practice has shown that round-shaped towers are more reliable than square towers with cannons located in the corners. There were 3-level ports on them, thanks to which cannonades could be directed at attackers from the land side.
Palace today
Now Kyrenia Castle holds two museums. The Museum of Shipwrecks presents unique exhibits: the hull of a sailing ship that sank around 300 BC. in the harbor of Kyrenia; archaeological finds confiscated from the surrounding city churches in the old days, icons, etc.
In the basement of the fortress there is a museum of torture, the exhibits of which are various weapons used by the Turkish military during the seizure of Northern Cyprus.
Absolutely all exhibits of exhibitions in the castle are of great interest to tourists and travelers. Kyrenia Castle is one of the best historical and architectural attractions.