Top Historic Sights in Corfu, Greece
Explore the historic highlights of Corfu
Saint Spyridon Church
Saint Spyridon Church is a Greek Orthodox church built in the 1580s. It houses the relics of Saint Spyridon and it is located in the old town of Corfu. It is a single-nave basilica and its bell tower is the highest in the Ionian Islands. In the 1580s, after the demolition of the private church, the Saint Spyridon remains were moved to their present location in a new church which was built within the city fortifications ...
Founded: 1580s |
Location:
Corfu, Greece
Palace of St. Michael and St. George
The Palace of St. Michael and St. George originally served as the residence of the British Lord High Commissioner of the Ionian Islands. It was built between 1819 and 1824, to a neoclassical design of Colonel George Whitmore. The palace was designed in the Greek Revival style of neoclassical architecture, and it was the first building of that style to be constructed on Greek territory. It was designed by the British ar ...
Founded: 1819-1824 |
Location:
Corfu, Greece
Cathedral of St. James and St. Christopher
The old cathedral was located in the Old Fortress of Corfu and was dedicated to the apostles Peter and Paul. This temple was one of the oldest monuments of the old fortress and was originally an Orthodox Cathedral which from the 13th to the 17th century was the cathedral of the city"s Catholics. Originally the church was a basilica and beside it was a chapel dedicated to Saint Arsenius, first bishop of Corfu (876-952 ...
Founded: 15th century |
Location:
Corfu, Greece
Old Fortress of Corfu
The Old Venetian Fortress of Corfu covers the promontory which initially contained the old town of Corfu that had emerged during Byzantine times. Before the Venetian era the promontory, which lies between the Gulf of Kerkyra to the north and Garitsa Bay to the south, was defended by Byzantine fortifications which the Venetians largely replaced with fortifications of their own design. As part of their defensive plans the ...
Founded: 15th century |
Location:
Corfu, Greece
Achilleion
Achilleion is a palace built in Gastouri on the Island of Corfu for the Empress Elisabeth of Austria, also known as Sisi. Elisabeth was deeply saddened by the tragic loss of her only son, Crown Prince Rudolf of Austria following the Mayerling incident in 1889, and a year later she had this summer palace built as a refuge. Achilleion is located about ten kilometres south of the city of Corfu and provides a panoramic view ...
Founded: 1889 |
Location:
Corfu, Greece
Paleokastritsa Monastery
The monastery of the Holy Theotokos, also known as Paleokastritsa Monastery, is one of the oldest in Corfu, dating to 1225. The reasons for visiting this monastery are two-fold. Set on the top of the cape, the views from the monastery are stunningly dramatic and indescribably beautiful. Perhaps the most visited of the island’s religious sites, due to its amazing position, it is also steeped in history. It is built on t ...
Founded: 1225 |
Location:
Corfu, Greece
Vlacherna Monastery
The Holy Monastery of Blachernae (Vlacherna) was built in the 17th century. In 1799, it belonged to the Halikiopoulos-Mantzaros family and for years functioned as a nunnery until 1980. The building is distinguished by its unusual shaped, tiled roof and intense white walls that sharply contrast with the lush landscape and the brilliant blue of the sea. After crossing the pedestrian bridge you will find yourself in the co ...
Founded: 17th century |
Location:
Corfu, Greece
New Fortress of Corfu
The New Fortress of Corfu is a Venetian fortress built on the hill of St. Mark in Corfu. The current buildings which exist within the fortress were built by the British during their rule of the island (1815–63). In the aftermath of the first great Ottoman siege of Corfu in 1537, the Venetians developed plans to expand the fortifications of the city. Venetians built the New Fortress at the hill of St. Mark to further st ...
Founded: 16th century |
Location:
Corfu, Greece
Venetian Arsenal
The Venetian arsenal at Gouvia was a shipyard built by the Republic of Venice during their rule over the island of Corfu. It was located on the west side of what used to be called 'Govino Bay', the current location of the modern village of Gouvia. The arsenal was built in 1716 as part of defenses against the Ottomans. It was abandoned by the Venetians in 1798, when the Venetian Republic ceased to exist.
Founded: 1716 |
Location:
Corfu, Greece
Kassiopi Castle
Kassiopi Castle was one of three Byzantine-period castles that defended the island before the Venetian era (1386–1797). The castles formed a defensive triangle, with Gardiki guarding the island's south, Kassiopi the northeast and Angelokastro the northwest. The exact origins of the castle are not clear, with various theories being advanced, but they appear to be Byzantine. During excavations in the two towers adjacent ...
Founded: 6th century AD |
Location:
Corfu, Greece
Mon Repos
Mon Repos villa was built as a summer residence for the British Lord High Commissioner of the United States of the Ionian Islands, Frederick Adam, and his second wife, Diamantina "Nina" Palatino, in 1828–1831, although they had to vacate the villa soon afterwards in 1832 when Adam was sent to serve in India. The villa was rarely used as a residence for later British governors. In 1833, it housed a school of fi ...
Founded: 1831 |
Location:
Corfu, Greece
Archaeological Museum of Corfu
The Archaeological Museum of Corfu was built between 1962 and 1965. The museum land was donated by the city of Corfu. Its initial purpose was to house the archaeological finds from the Temple of Artemis in Corfu. In 1994 it was expanded with the addition of two more exhibit halls that display the more recent finds at the ancient citadel of Corfu. The collections of the museum include for example finds from excavations ...
Founded: 1962 |
Location:
Corfu, Greece
Angelokastro
Angelokastro is a Byzantine castle on the island of Corfu. It is located at the top of the highest peak of the island"s shoreline in the northwest coast near Palaiokastritsa and built on particularly precipitous and rocky terrain. It stands 305 m on a steep cliff above the sea and surveys the City of Corfu and the mountains of mainland Greece to the southeast and a wide area of Corfu toward the northeast and northwes ...
Founded: 13th century |
Location:
Corfu, Greece
Church of Saints Iasson and Sossipatros
Church of Saints Iasson and Sossipatros is dedicated to the two Saints Iasson and Sosipatros, both Paul"s disciples, who spread the Christianity on Corfu island.This church was constructed in the 11th century on the ruins of a monastery and it is one of the few examples of Byzantine architecture left standing. Stones collected from abandoned ancient buildings were used in its construction and expert builders were ca ...
Founded: 11th century |
Location:
Corfu, Greece
Basilica of Palaiopolis
The Basilica of Palaiopolis, one of the most important Byzantine monuments in Corfu, was built in the mid-5th AD century by the Bishop Ioviano. The temple was built in the center of the Roman market of Corfu. It was a five-aisled basilica with a transept, double narthex, atrium and rich sculpture and mosaic decoration. For building materials from the adjacent ancient pagan temples , which still visible on its walls. The ...
Founded: 5th century AD |
Location:
Corfu, Greece
Pantocrator Church
Just in front of Vlaherna Monastery there is an island called Pontikonissi on which there is only one building: the church of Pantocrator. According to one interpretation of the Odyssey this island would be the ship of Ulysses that was turned into rock by Poseidon while, according to another legend would be the rock on which Ulysses" ship crashed during a storm. The church of Pantocrator was built in the 13th centur ...
Founded: 13th century |
Location:
Corfu, Greece
Temple of Hera
The Temple of Hera or Heraion is an archaic temple in Corfu, built around 610 BC in the ancient city of Korkyra (or Corcyra), in what is known today as Palaiopolis, and lies within the ground of the Mon Repos estate. The sanctuary of Hera at Mon Repos is considered a major temple, and one of the earliest examples of archaic Greek architecture. Large terracotta figures such as lions, gorgoneions, and Daidala maidens, crea ...
Founded: 610 BCE |
Location:
Corfu, Greece
Kardaki Temple
Kardaki Temple is an Archaic Doric temple in Corfu, built around 500 BC in the ancient city of Korkyra. The temple features several architectural peculiarities that point to a Doric origin. The temple at Kardaki is unusual because it has no frieze, following perhaps architectural tendencies of Sicilian temples. It is considered to be the only Greek temple of Doric architecture that does not have a frieze. The spacing of t ...
Founded: 500 BCE |
Location:
Corfu, Greece
Tomb of Menecrates
The Tomb of Menecrates is an Archaic-period cenotaph in Corfu, built around 600 BC in the ancient city of Korkyra. The tomb and the funerary sculpture of a lion were discovered in 1843 during demolition works by the British army who were demolishing a Venetian-era fortress in the site of Garitsa hill in Corfu. The tomb is dated to the sixth century BC. The sculpture is dated to the end of the seventh century BC and is on ...
Founded: 600 BCE |
Location:
Corfu, Greece
Gardiki Castle
Gardiki Castle is a 13th-century Byzantine castle on the southwestern coast of Corfu and the only surviving medieval fortress on the southern part of the island. It was built by a ruler of the Despotate of Epirus, and was one of three castles which defended the island before the Venetian era (1401–1797). The three castles formed a defensive triangle, with Gardiki guarding the island's south, Kassiopi Castle the northeas ...
Founded: 13th century |
Location:
Corfu, Greece
Temple of Artemis
The Temple of Artemis is an Archaic Greek temple in Corfu, Greece, built in around 580 BC in the ancient city of Korkyra. The temple was dedicated to Artemis. It is known as the first Doric temple exclusively built with stone. It is also considered the first building to have incorporated all of the elements of the Doric architectural style. Very few Greek temple reliefs from the Archaic period have survived, and the large ...
Founded: 580 BCE |
Location:
Corfu, Greece
Platytera Monastery
Platytera Monastery is situated in Corfu city not far from the new port. It was built in 1743 but had a short life because during the war French-Russian-Turk (1799) it was destroyed. Then it was reconstructed and became one of the most important monasteries of the island for the mortal remains of Capodistria, president of Greece, and Tsavellas, hero of revolution, which are inside. This monastery is dedicated to the Bless ...
Founded: 1743 |
Location:
Corfu, Greece
Pantokratoras Monastery
Pantokratoras monastery, standing on the summit of the mountain of the same name, enjoys scenic views of the entire island of Corfu, the surrounding islands and the mainland. The first construction was built in 1347 and destroyed in 1537, while the building we admire today dates back to the late 17th century. Besides the stone church there are portico and inner courtyards. Entering in the monastery you have not a feeling ...
Founded: 1347 |
Location:
Corfu, Greece
Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings
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Historic Site of the week
Krickenbeck Castle
Krickenbeck moated castle is one of the oldest on the lower Rhine. Its history dates back to the year 1104, when the castle was first mentioned. It is unclear why the old castle, which was certainly inhabited by Count Reginar, was abandoned or destroyed. In the mid-13th century the castle was moved to the current location. At the end of the 14th century the new castle belonged to the Counts of Kleve.
Johann Friedrich II of Schesaberg converted the castle into a Baroque mansion between 1708-1721. On September 7, 1902, a fire destroyed the entire mansion. From 1903 to 1904, a three-winged castle was built in the Neo-Renaissance style. Today Krickenbeck is a conference center.