House of Dionysos

Paphos, Cyprus

The House of Dionysos is a rich Greco-Roman type building where the rooms were arranged around a central court, which functioned as the core of the house. It seems that the house was built at the end of the 2nd century AD. and was destroyed and abandoned after the earthquakes of the 4th century AD. The House of Dionysus occupies 2000 square metres of which 556 are covered with mosaic floors decorated with mythological, vintage and hunting scenes. The magnificent mosaic decorations and the mythological compositions are the main characteristics of this restored Roman villa and it is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Paphos.

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Coastal Broadwalk, Paphos, Cyprus
See all sites in Paphos

Details

Founded: c. 190 AD
Category: Prehistoric and archaeological sites in Cyprus

More Information

www.mcw.gov.cy
www.visitpafos.org.cy

Rating

4.6/5 (based on Google user reviews)

Interesting Sites Nearby


Paphos Castle (0,4 km)
Tombs of the Kings (2,2 km)
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Kourion (45,3 km)
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Petra tou Romiou (22,7 km)
Temple of Aphrodite (16,4 km)
Church of Archangelos Michail (45,3 km)
Chrysoroyiatissa Monastery (25,9 km)
Monastery of Agios Ioannis Lampadistis (46,8 km)
Panagia tou Sinti Monastery (23,2 km)
Vouni Palace Ruins (56 km)

User Reviews

The War Kettle (5 months ago)
Great day out
Sue Hill (5 months ago)
Great archaeological site
Piers Lewis (8 months ago)
This was the best value for money. Easy access for disabled, free parking close to entrance and toilet facilities on site. This is a large site that includes The House of Aion, Orpheus, Theseus and Achille, Then a large building that covers and allows access to House of Dionysos. Each has amazing mosaics that have been well preserved. You can see the outline of the buildings and the rooms and the details provided for the individual areas is very clear. The layout of the walkways is very clever allowing access and views to most areas of the site while protecting the more vulnerable areas. you don't feel restricted. This covers a decent size area and is easy to miss things if you are not aware of what the site covers. We spent a few hours here, but could have spent longer.
Shona Haggerty (9 months ago)
This was a fabulous experience best done in the early morning as the heat of the day makes it rather uncomfortable would recommend as a must see and only €4.50 for hours of informational experience
Ieva Mikosa (9 months ago)
The House of Dionysus occupies 2000 square metres of which 556 are covered with mosaic floors decorated with mythological, vintage and hunting scenes. The magnificent mosaic decorations and the mythological compositions are the main characteristics of this restored Roman villa and it is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Paphos.
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Moszna Castle

The Moszna Castle is one of the best known monuments in the western part of Upper Silesia. The history of this building begins in the 17th century, although much older cellars were found in the gardens during excavations carried out at the beginning of the 20th century. Some of the investigators, including H. Barthel, claimed that those cellars could have been remnants of a presumed Templar castle, but their theory has never been proved. After World War II, further excavations discovered a medieval palisade.

The central part of the castle is an old baroque palace which was partially destroyed by fire on the night of April 2, 1896 and was reconstructed in the same year in its original form by Franz Hubert von Tiele-Winckler. The reconstruction works involved an extension of the residence. The eastern Neogothic-styled wing of the building was built by 1900, along with an adjacent orangery. In 1912-1914, the western wing was built in the Neo-Renaissance style. The architectural form of the castle contains a wide variety of styles, thus it can be generally defined as eclectic.

The height of the building, as well as its numerous turrets and spires, give the impression of verticalism. The whole castle has exactly ninety-nine turrets. Inside, it contains 365 rooms. The castle was twice visited by the German Emperor Wilhelm II. His participation in hunting during his stay at the castle was documented in a hand-written chronicle in 1911 as well as in the following year. The castle in Moszna was the residence of a Silesian family Tiele-Winckler who were industrial magnates, from 1866 until the spring of 1945 when they were forced to move to Germany and the castle was occupied by the Red Army. The period of the Soviet control caused significant damage to the castle's internal fittings in comparison to the minor damage caused by WWII.

After World War II the castle did not have a permanent owner and was the home of various institutions until 1972 when it became a convalescent home. Later it became a Public Health Care Centre for Therapies of Neuroses. Nowadays it can be visited by tourists since the health institution has moved to another building in the neighbourhood. The castle also has a chapel which is used as a concert hall. Since 1998 the castle housed a gallery in which works of various artists are presented at regular exhibitions.

Apart from the castle itself, the entire complex includes a park which has no precise boundaries and includes nearby fields, meadows and a forest. Only the main axis of the park can be characterised as geometrical. Starting from the gate, it leads along the oak and then horse-chestnut avenues, towards the castle. Further on, the park passes into an avenue of lime trees with symmetrical canals running along both sides of the path, lined with a few varieties of rhododendrons. The axis of the park terminates at the base of a former monument of Hubert von Tiele-Winckler. On the eastern side of the avenue there is a pond with an islet referred to by the owners as Easter Island. The islet is planted with needle-leaved shrubs and can be reached by a Chinese-styled bridge. The garden, as part of the whole park complex was restored slightly earlier than the castle itself. Preserved documents of 1868 state that the improvement in the garden's aesthetic quality was undertaken by Hubert von Tiele-Winckler.

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