Agios Demetrios Cathedral, Mystras, Greece

One of the most important churches of Mystras is the Cathedral of Agios Demetrios, built in 1280- 1292. It is the oldest church in the city.

This church has a mixed architectural style: on the one hand it has a three-aisled basilica with a narthex and a bell tower, built in the 13th century on the ground floor, and on the other hand, the upper floor is a cross-in-square church, added in the first half of the 15th century. Its interior is decorated with wall paintings in many different styles. This is where the last Byzantine emperor, Constantinos Paleologos, was crowned in 1449.

References:

www.greeka.com

User Reviews

Caroline Kamarinos (11 months ago)
If there was ONE Place to go to in this area I would have to say THIS would be it!!! AMAZING!!!

BARTOSZ R (2 years ago)
Beautiful Cathedral with excellent museum inside.

Bruno Bilo' (4 years ago)
Sito archeologico fantastico. Faticoso ma vale ogni goccia di sudore

Roxane Glt (5 years ago)
quite a lot of climbing but you can buy cheap water bottles and the place is so beautiful! When at the top, the view is simple breathtaking.

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

Photo from Flickr, copyright Göran Höglund (Kartläsarn)

Historic Site of the week

Varberg Fortress

Varberg Fortress was built in 1287-1300 by count Jacob Nielsen as protection against his Danish king, who had declared him an outlaw after the murder of King Eric V of Denmark. Jacob had close connections with king Eric II of Norway and as a result got substantial Norwegian assistance with the construction. The fortress, as well as half the county, became Norwegian in 1305.

King Eric's grand daughter, Ingeborg Håkansdotter, inherited the area from her father, King Haakon V of Norway. She and her husband, Eric, Duke of Södermanland, established a semi-independent state out of their Norwegian, Swedish and Danish counties until the death of Erik. They spent considerable time at the fortress. Their son, King Magnus IV of Sweden (Magnus VII of Norway), spent much time at the fortress as well.

The fortress was augmented during the late 16th and early 17th century on order by King Christian IV of Denmark. However, after the Treaty of Brömsebro in 1645 the fortress became Swedish. It was used as a military installation until 1830 and as a prison from the end of the 17th Century until 1931.

It is currently used as a museum and bed and breakfast as well as private accommodation. The moat of the fortress is said to be inhabited by a small lake monster. In August 2006, a couple of witnesses claimed to have seen the monster emerge from the dark water and devour a duck. The creature is described as brown, hairless and with a 40 cm long tail.

Do you know an ancient castle or magnificent church near you?

Why not share it with other people interested in history? You can add your own historic sites and attractions to SpottingHistory.com.

It's absolutely free, easy, and doesn't even need registration!

Upload data

Agios Demetrios Cathedral

Address

Details

More Information

Rating

Interesting Sites Nearby

User Reviews

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

Historic Landmarks of Sicily

Rhodes, The Island of Knights

Great Spa Towns of Europe

Historic Site of the week

Varberg Fortress

Looks like you are a history fan!