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Kyrenia Castle (Girne)

Cyprus / Turkish controlled area / Girne
 castle, museum, place with historical importance
Kyrenia castle at the east end of the old harbour is a very spectacular site and within its walls there is a twelfth century chapel showing reused late Roman capitals. The main features of the exterior of the castle are the huge round towers built by the Venetians in 1540 AD. This was a period of history when gunpowder, cannons and the use of artillery were being developed for the first time in military operations. The Old Crusader Castle was changed and huge high walls with round towers at the corners were built. A round tower is more difficult to destroy with cannon fire than a square tower, and so a new type of military warfare arose in the 16th century. The Venetians built many gun ports at three levels where cannon fire could be directed against attackers from the land. This proves that the Venetians were afraid of an attack from the Cypriots and not from the sea. Inside the castle, huge long ramps were built so that the artillery could be rolled up to the gun ports on the walls. The Old Crusader walls and towers were strengthened and improved so that the whole castle was carefully planned to meet a landward attack. However, this was all in vain as a major siege never occurred.
The inner courtyard of the castle is vast and in one of the rooms leading off it is the Shipwreck Museum, exhibiting the remains of a 4th-century Greek ship, discovered by Andreas Kariolou, a Greek-Cypriot diver, and studied by Michael Katsev of the University Museum of Pennsylvania, in 1967, salvaged not far from Kyrenia together with its cargo...
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Wikipedia article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kyrenia_Castle
Nearby cities:
Coordinates:   35°20'29"N   33°19'20"E

Comments

  • Skalrith
    Any feedback would be welcome. Please keep political propaganda to a minimum.
  • bobbobbob
    The castle is now a place to visit for tourists, and houses the Shipwreck museum. During the summer months, the Castle is host to many open air concerts.
  • den (guest)
    Неприступная крепость, красиво, но все какое то разрушенное ( вокруг крепости).Крепость еще 1000 лет простоит.
This article was last modified 6 years ago