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History of Kolossi castle

Dublin Core

Title

History of Kolossi castle

Alternative Title

Η ιστορία του κάστρου Κολοσσίου

Description

Kolossi castle is a medieval castle built in the 15th century A.D. It is also known as Koulas. The donjon lies in the vicinity of the village of the same name in the south-western outskirts of Limassol. The plain on which the castle is located is one of the agriculturally richest regions of the island from which the renowned Commandaria comes from. The order of Saint John, the owners of the castle, initiated the production of the wine which reached even north-European royal courts. The castle constitutes one of the most important building works of the Frankish period (A.D. 1191-1489). Its services were multi-faceted throughout the centuries including being: the main residence of the Grand Commander and the administrative centre of the Order; the estates’ nucleus for the production of sugar and other products of the region; the domination symbol of the Hospitallers; a storage house; water features; and viewpoints. Before the erection of the current castle, a quadrangular curtain wall with supporting rooms on the west side, related to the refinement of sugar, must occupied the area. However, the keep which one can see today was built in the 1450s by Louis de Magnac, the General Commander of the Hospitallers in Cyprus. The fortress is an enormous square, well-built, three-story edifice, built from local limestone ashlar blocks. The castle is one of the most photographed monuments, adorning postcards, postage stamps, gravures and other media. Today the castle is open to the public to visit as a sightseeing.
Το κάστρο Κολοσσίου είναι Μεσαιωνικό φρούριο το οποίο χρονολογείται στον 15ο αιώνα μ.Χ. και οικοδομήθηκε με χορηγία του Louis de Magnac, Μεγάλου Μαγίστρου του Τάγματος των Ιωαννιτών Ιπποτών. Το φρούριο ονομάζεται και Κούλας και βρίσκεται σε μια από τις πιο εύφορες πεδιάδες του νησιού, στα νοτιο-δυτικά της πόλης της Λεμεσού στην οποία έδρευε η Commanderie – Ανώτατη Στρατιωτική Διοίκηση - των Ιωαννιτών Ιπποτών, από την οποία εξέλαβε και το όνομά του το περίφημο κρασί Κουμανταρία.
Το κάστρο αποτελεί ένα από τα πιο σημαντικά οικοδομήματα της Φραγκικής περιόδου (A.D. 1191-1489) και κατά τη διάρκεια των αιώνων είχε αρκετές και διαφορετικές χρήσεις όπως η κύρια κατοικία του Μεγάλου Μαγίστρου και το διοικητικό κέντρο του Τάγματος, κέντρο παραγωγής ζάχαρης και άλλων προϊόντων της περιοχής, σύμβολο κυριαρχίας των Ιωαννιτών Ιπποτών, αποθηκευτικοί χώροι, δεξαμενές νερού και παρατηρητήριο.
Το κάστρο αποτελεί ένα απο τα πιο πολυφωτογραφημένα μνημεία του νησιού, διακοσμώντας καρτ-ποστάλ, γραμματόσημα, γκραβούρες και άλλα μέσα. Σήμερα το κάστρο είναι ανοικτό προς επίσκεψη από το κοινό.

Source

[1] C. Enlart, L Art Gothique et de la Renaissance en Chypre. Paris: Republished translated and edited by David Hunt (London, 1987), 1899.
[2] A. H. S. Megaw, A Brief History and Description of Kolossi Castle. Nicosia: Department of Antiquities of Cyprus, 1964.
[3] E. Aristidou, Kolossi Castle Through The Centuries. Nicosia, 2004.
[4] J.-B. de Vaivre, La Forteresse de Kolossi en Chypre, in Monuments et Memoires de la Fondation Eugene Piot, Tome 79., Paris: Publiers par L Academie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres avec le concours de la Fondation Dourlans, 2000, pp. 73-155. (https://www.persee.fr/doc/piot_1148-6023_2000_num_79_1_1373)

[5] P. Vaivre, J-B. de, Plagnieux, L Art Gothique en Chypre. Paris: Memoires de l Academie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres, 2006.
[6] E. G. Rey, Etude sur les monuments de l architecture militaire des Croises en Syrie et dans l Ile de Chypre. Paris, 1871.(https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k6261777m/f1.item.r=kolossi.zoom)
[7] M. R. Morgan, The Chronicle of Ernoul and the Continuations of William of Tyre. Oxford, 1973.
[8] P. W. Edbury, The Lyon Eracles and the Old French Continuations of William of Tyre, in Montjoie: Studies in Crusade History in honour of Hans Eberhard Mayer, R. ed. Kedar, B.Z., Riley-Smith, J., Hiestrand, Ed. Aldershot, 1997, pp. 139-153.
[9] J. S. Petre, Crusader Castles of Cyprus: The Fortifications of Cyprus Under The Lusignans: 1191-1489. Nicosia: Cyprus Research Centre, Texts and Studies in the History of Cyprus LXIX, 2012.
[10] G. Jeffery, A Description of the Historic Monuments of Cyprus: Studies in the Archaeology and Architecture of the Island. Cyprus, 1918. (https://archive.org/details/cu31924028551319)
[11] S. Lusignan, Description de Toute L Isle de Chypre. Paris: Republished in Nicosia, 2004, Bank of Cyprus Cultural Foundation, 1580.
[12] G. Grivaud, Excerpta Cypria Nova, Vol. I. Nicosia: Voyageurs Occidentaux a Chypre au XVeme Siecle, Centre de Recherches Scientifiques. Sources et Etudes de L Histoire de Chypre, 1990.
[13] F. Bustron, Chronique de l Ile de Chypre. Paris: ed. Rene de Mas Latrie. Collection des documents inedits sur l histoire de France: Melanges historiques, 5, 1886. (https://archive.org/details/chroniquedelle00bustuoft/page/n5)
[14] S. Lusignan, Chorograffia et breve Historia Universale dell Isola de Cipro Principiando al Tempo di Noe per in Sino al 1572. Paris: Reprinted in Nicosia, 2004, Bank of Cyprus Cultural Foundation, 1573.
[15] M. Olympios, Rummaging through Ruins: Architecture in Limassol in the Lusignan and Venetian Periods, in Lemesos. A History of Limassol in Cyprus from Antiquity to the Ottoman Conquest, C. Nicolaou-Konnari, Angel, Schabel, Ed. Newcastle upon Tyne: Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2015, pp. 362 500.
[16] R. C. Severis, Travelling Artists in Cyprus: 1700-1960. Philip Wilson Publishers, 2000.

Publisher

UNESCO Chair on Digital Cultural Heritage / Digital Heritage Research Lab Cyprus University of Technology

Contributor

UNESCO Chair on Digital Cultural Heritage / Digital Heritage Research Lab Cyprus University of Technology

Format

pdf

Language

en
el

Type

TEXT

Identifier

MEDIEVAL_KOLOSSI_CASTLE_ENG_TEXT
MEDIEVAL_KOLOSSI_CASTLE_GR_TEXT

Coverage

34.66516, 32.93406
Kolossi Castle

Abstract

Documentation of the history of the Kolossi castle.
Αναδρομή στην μακραίωνη ιστορία του κάστρου Κολοσσίου.

Date Created

15th century

Is Part Of

Europeana Archaeology

Spatial Coverage

34.66516, 32.93406
Kolossi Castle

Temporal Coverage

Frankish (1191-1489)
Venetian (1489-1571)
Ottoman (1571-1878)
British (1878-1960)
Modern (1960-2008)
Medieval European (1200-1499)

Files

Citation

UNESCO Chair on Digital Cultural Heritage / Digital Heritage Research Lab Cyprus University of Technology, “History of Kolossi castle,” Αψίδα, accessed April 25, 2024, https://apsida.cut.ac.cy/items/show/47050.