Koules Fortress, Heraklion, Greece

The 'Castello a Mare' is a fortress located at the entrance of the old port of Heraklion, Crete. It was built by the Republic of Venice in the early 16th century, and is still in good condition today.

The site of Castello a Mare was possibly first fortified by the Arabs in the 9th or 10th centuries. By the Byzantine period, a tower known as Castellum Comunis stood on the site. In 1303, the tower was destroyed in an earthquake but was repaired.

In 1462, the Venetian Senate approved a programme to improve the fortifications of Candia. Eventually, the Byzantine tower was demolished in 1523, and the Castello a Mare began to be built instead. Old ships were filled with stone, and were sunk to form a breakwater and increase the area of the platform on which the fortress was built. The fortress was completed in 1540.

In 1630, the fort was armed with 18 cannons on the ground floor, and 25 cannons on the pathway leading to the roof.

During the 21-year long Siege of Candia, Ottoman batteries easily neutralized the fort's firepower. The Ottomans eventually took the fort in 1669, after the Venetians surrendered the entire city. They did not make any major alterations to the fort, except for the additions of some battlements and embrasures. They built a small fort known as Little Koules on the landward side, but this was demolished in 1936 while the city was being modernized.

The fortress has been restored, and it is now open to the public. Art exhibitions and cultural activities are occasionally held at the fort.

The fortress is made up of two parts: a high rectangular section, and a slightly lower semi-elliptical section. Its walls are up to 8.7m thick at some places, and it has three entrances. The fort has two stories, with a total of 26 rooms, which were originally used as barracks, a prison, storage rooms, a water reservoir, a church, a mill and a bakery. A lighthouse tower is located on the northern part of the fort.

References:

Wikipedia

User Reviews

G F (5 months ago)
This is a great location to spend a few hours and learn about the history of Crete. The fort is very easy to find and well maintained. The location is full of artifacts and has lots of information regarding the site and its uses. Well worth a visit if you go to Crete.

Leri Jandieri (6 months ago)
One of the best historical places i’ve seen in a while (I haven’t seen any historical things in my lifetime…) but to be fair it was a beautiful castle. I would visit it again.

Radu Tasca (7 months ago)
One of the first sights that draw your attention when you arrive in Heraklion, it's q very nice to walk by and also to visit inside. With a very rich history, it has been renovated to both bring it to it's former glory but also to host a piece of physical and visual gallery that will transport you a few hundred years into the past. The stories on the walls are a nice addition, while the objects dug up from the near by see make the experience an extraordinary one. And do not forget to visit the terrace: it will give you a 360 view of the surroundings.

Thomas Beech (9 months ago)
An impressive fortress from days gone by. It has many artefacts and lots of information with regards to the fortress itself and the history of Heraklion. The views from the top of the fortress are fantastic, it's also a great place to cool off in the vast cavernous rooms inside!

Bowen de Vries (2 years ago)
Beautiful historic location and definitely worth a visit if you're in Heraklion. The price for a ticket is 4 euros. They provide some information in English about the location and different times, which was an interesting read. Though the exhibition further inside I was most interested in was unfortunately almost completely in Greek. With the addition of a proper English translation you could definitely spend some more time inside. Nevertheless I recommend checking out this place as it's beautiful and so is the view from the top of the fortress.

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The Château de Foix dominates the town of Foix. An important tourist site, it is known as a centre of the Cathars. Built on an older 7th-century fortification, the castle is known from 987. In 1002, it was mentioned in the will of Roger I, Count of Carcassonne, who bequeathed the fortress to his youngest child, Bernard. In effect, the family ruling over the region were installed here which allowed them to control access to the upper Ariège valley and to keep surveillance from this strategic point over the lower land, protected behind impregnable walls.

In 1034, the castle became capital of the County of Foix and played a decisive role in medieval military history. During the two following centuries, the castle was home to Counts with shining personalities who became the soul of the Occitan resistance during the crusade against the Albigensians. The county became a privileged refuge for persecuted Cathars.

The castle, often besieged (notably by Simon de Montfort in 1211 and 1212), resisted assault and was only taken once, in 1486, thanks to treachery during the war between two branches of the Foix family.

From the 14th century, the Counts of Foix spent less and less time in the uncomfortable castle, preferring the Governors' Palace. From 1479, the Counts of Foix became Kings of Navarre and the last of them, made Henri IV of France, annexed his Pyrrenean lands to France.

As seat of the Governor of the Foix region from the 15th century, the castle continued to ensure the defence of the area, notably during the Wars of Religion. Alone of all the castles in the region, it was exempted from the destruction orders of Richelieu (1632-1638).

Until the Revolution, the fortress remained a garrison. Its life was brightened with grand receptions for its governors, including the Count of Tréville, captain of musketeers under Louis XIII and Marshal Philippe Henri de Ségur, one of Louis XVI's ministers. The Round Tower, built in the 15th century, is the most recent, the two square towers having been built before the 11th century. They served as a political and civil prison for four centuries until 1862.

Since 1930, the castle has housed the collections of the Ariège départemental museum. Sections on prehistory, Gallo-Roman and mediaeval archaeology tell the history of Ariège from ancient times. Currently, the museum is rearranging exhibits to concentrate on the history of the castle site so as to recreate the life of Foix at the time of the Counts.

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