Castle In Monemvasia
Monemvasia is one of the most important medieval fortress-cities of Greece. It is also one of the most beautiful castles in the world.
Its area consists mostly of a large plateau some 100 metres above sea level, up to 300 m wide and 1 km long, the site of a powerful medieval fortress. The town walls and many Byzantine churches remain from the medieval period.
Location & Strategic Scope Monemvasia is built in a rock which is a connected with a narrow and unique road to the mainland. Thus, it had always been well protected from the raids of the barbarians.
The Name of the Castle "Monemvasia" means "one-way".
History The town and fortress were founded in 583, during the reign of the Byzantine Emperor Mauricius, by people seeking refuge from the Slavic and the Avaric invasion of Greece. A history of the invasion and occupation of the Peloponnese was recorded in the medieval Chronicle of Monemvasia. From the 10th century AD, the town developed into an important trade and maritime centre. The fortress withstood the Arab and Norman invasions in 1147; cornfields that fed up to 30 men were tilled inside the fortress. William II of Villehardouin took it in 1248, on honourable terms, after three years of siege; in 1259 William was captured by the Greeks after the battle of Pelagonia and in 1262 it was retroceded to Michael VIII Palaiologos as part of William's ransom.
It remained part of the Byzantine Empire until 1460, becoming the seat of an imperial governor, a landing place for Byzantine operations against the Franks, the main port of shipment (if not always production) for Malmsey wine, and one of the most dangerous lairs of corsairs in the Levant. The Emperors gave it valuable privileges, attracting Roger de Lluria who sacked the lower town in 1292. The town welcomed the Catalan Company on its way eastward in 1302. In 1397 the Despot of the Morea, Theodore I Palaiologos, deposed the local dynast of Monemvasia, who appealed to Sultan Bayezid I and was reinstated by Turkish troops. In 1419 the rock appears to have come into the possession of Venice, though it soon returned to the Despot. About 1401, the historian George Sphrantzes was born in the town. After the fall of Constantinople in 1453 Monemvasia held out against the threats of Sultan Mehmed II in 1458 and 1460, when it became the only remaining domain of the Despot of the Morea, Thomas Palaiologos, claimant of the Imperial throne. He had no forces to defend it; he offered it to the Sultan, and finally sold it to the Pope. By 1464 the inhabitants found the Pope's representative feeble and the Pope unable to protect them; they admitted a Venetian garrison. The town was fairly prosperous under Venetian rule until the peace of 1502-3, in which it lost its farm lands, source of its food supply and of Malmsey wine. The food
had to come by sea or from Turkish-held lands, and the cultivation of wine languished under Turkish rule. The rock was governed by the Venetians until the treaty of 1540, which cost the Republic Nauplion and Monemvasia, her last two possessions on mainland Greece. Those inhabitants who did not wish to live under Turkish rule were given lands elsewhere.The Ottomans then ruled the town until the brief Venetian recovery in 1690, then again from 1715 to 1821. It was known as "Menekล e" ("Violet" in Turkish) during Ottoman rule and was a sanjak (province) centre in the Morea Eyalet. The commercial importance of the town continued until the Orlov Revolt (1770) in the Russo-Turkish War, which saw its importance decline severely. The town was liberated from Ottoman rule on July 23, 1821 by Tzannetakis Grigorakis who entered the town with his private army during the Greek War of Independence.
Structure, Fortification & Buildings The urban development of Monenbasia was determined by the terrain and the area available for building. Upper City houses typically stand two or three storeys tall, are larger than those in the Lower City and are built parallel to each other. Most of the houses are to the south of the main market road in the Lower City, where building is dense. The buildings owe their fine condition to the fact that they were well built of sturdy masonry and durable mortar, with extensive use of vaults.Three different types of houses are found in Lower City: one with the faรงade on the narrow side, another with the faรงade on the broad side, and the square type which has more or less equal sides. The houses are founded on the bedrock, built of solid masonry and covered with domes, which are typically 3 metres wide.
Cisterns were built in between the foundations to collect rainwater via a network of wells and pipelines starting on the house roof. At foundation level or immediately above there were domed storage areas mainly for olive oil and wine, though in some cases they may have been used for stabling animals. The rest of the house was usually on two levels above the domes. The lower one at street level provided access to the house and contained the kitchen area with the fireplace and cistern hatch; in older buildings there were also toilets similar to those at Mystras. A wooden staircase led to the main living areas on the upper floor. This had a fireplace, a balcony and as many windows as possible. Particularly in later years, rooms were separated by thin walls of rough materials such as planks and plaster (รงatmas). If there was any space available, more rooms were added; in some cases the houses extended into archways over the streets. Finally, any courtyards or gardens would have been very small.
Monemvasia occupies a steep, rocky islet connected to the Laconian coast by a bridge. The settlement was founded in the 6th century A.D. by the inhabitants of Laconia. A second settlement was later founded on a lower level, and gradually developed into a town of significant strategic importance. After a short domination of the Popes, the area was captured by the Venetians in 1464. In 1540 it was occupied by the Turks and its decline became more evident. In 1690 it was given over to the Venetians and in 1715 was recaptured by the Turks. It was the first among the fortified towns of the Peloponnese to be liberated by the Greeks in 1821. The 5th Ephorate of Byzantine Antiquities has reconstructed the demolished parts of walls in the Upper Town and has restored the church and the wall paintings of Aghia Sophia. In the Lower Town, the sea wall has been rebuilt, the Moslem Mosque has been restored, the east and west bastion of the fortification wall have been consolidated, and many of the churches have been repaired and restored. The most important monuments of the site are: The settlement which is divided into two sections, built at different levels, each with a separate fortification. Remains of numerous Byzantine and post-Byzantine buildings are preserved in the area of the Upper Town which is not inhabited today. Church of Aghia Sophia (Holy Wisdom) at the Upper Town. Octagonal, domed, cross-in-square church, identified by some scholars as the Monastery of Our Lady Hodegetria, dated to 1150. Lower Town. The area is inhabited today and many of the ruined buildings have been restored by the 5th Ephorate. The settlement is surrounded by a U-shaped fortification wall with two gates, one on the east and one on the west side, and a small exit to the sea. Important monuments of the Lower Town are:hurch of
Christ Helkomenos (Led to the Passion) Domed, three-aisled basilica with a barrel-vaulted roof, a narthex, a built synthronon, and an episcopal throne. Significant portable icons of the post-Byzantine period are preserved in the interior.
Moslem Mosque. It was built in the first period of the Turkish occupation (16th century), was converted into a Frankish church during the Venetian occupation, and again became a mosque in the 18th century. It has been restored and houses the Archaeological Collection of Monemvasia. Church of Panaghia (Our Lady) Lyrtidiotissa. Single-aisled, domed basilica built in ca. 1700. The interior was decorated with a wooden carved screen. Church of St. Nicolas.Three-aisled basilica with a dome and a barrel-vaulted roof, built in 1703. Church of Panaghia (Our Lady) Chrysaphitissa. Square room roofed with a low dome, built in the 17th century. Many smaller churches are to be seen in the Lower Town of Monemvasia: St. Andrew, St. Anne the Catholic, St. Anne, dated to the second Venetian occupation (1690-1720), St. Demetrios and several more.