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Medieval fortress in Rhodes, Greece
Feraklos Castle
(
Greek
:
K?στρο Φερ?κλου
), also
Feraklou
(Φερακλο?) and
Faraklenon Castle
(Φαρακλεν?ν K?στρο),
[1]
is a ruined medieval fortress, located on an 85 m-high hill overlooking the village of
Charaki
on the east coast of the island of
Rhodes
,
Greece
.
History
[
edit
]
The fortress was originally built in the
Byzantine
era. It was
captured
by the
Knights Hospitaller
on 20 September 1306, being their first possession on the island that would become their base. By 1408 it was in ruins, and was repaired under the Grand Masters
Giovanni Battista Orsini
(1467?76) and
Pierre d'Aubusson
(1476?1503) as a stronghold to protect the area, and particularly watch over the anchorages at the Charaki and Agia Agathi beaches nearby.
[1]
After 1470, the Hospitallers abandoned all other fortifications on the island except for Feraklos, nearby
Lindos
, and the
city of Rhodes
, which in turn were further strengthened. A decree of 1474 prescribed that the Feraklos Castle was the place of refuge by the inhabitants of the villages of Malona, Salia, Katagros, Zinodotou, and Kaminari when there was danger.
[1]
The fort was captured by the
Ottoman Empire
in 1523 after a long siege, a few months after the
capture of Rhodes
. The Ottomans did not use the castle and it has since been abandoned.
Layout
[
edit
]
The fortress has an irregular polygonal layout, with a wall perimeter of 680 m encompassing an area of 1,700 square meters. The northern and western portions date to Byzantine times, but the rest are additions or modifications by the Hospitallers. A single gate and two cylindrical towers survive in the southern portion of the walls, along with a
cistern
in the interior.
[1]
References
[
edit
]
External links
[
edit
]
Gallery
[
edit
]
-
View from the south. Evening
-
View from the south. Night
-
View from the west. Evening
-
Remains of the road to the Castle on the south side
-
The arch ruins
-
The ruins of the north wall
-
A fragment of the south wall
-
Olive tree at the Feraclos Castle ruins