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Castle of Lemesos Medieval Museum of Cyprus

AniphaeS's profile picture
Published in 
Cyprus
 · 23 Jun 2020
Castle of Lemesos Medieval Museum of Cyprus
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The Castle of Lemesos (Limassol) can be found on the western edge of the historic city center and its purpose was to guard and protect both the port and the city itself. The present edifice dates back to the Ottoman period (1590) and it was in this architectural phase that the remains of the earlier and larger medieval castle were incorporated. Althought the oldest written reference to the Castle of Lemesos dates back to 1228, archeological evidence indicates that it existed during the Byzantine period. Today, the castle houses the Medieval Museum of Cyprus.

The castle has a rectangular shape and the thickness of its wall is two mwtres. Access to the interior of the castle is provided through the guard office at the entrance. Once inside, there is descending staircase on the right hand side, which leads to a large underground cross'vaulted room. This room connects to the roof of the castle vi a spiral staircase. Attached on the eastern end of the underground room is a large rectangular three-storey structure which is connected to the former via a narrow corridor. The basement of this structure is comprised of three long vaulted rooms.
The corresponding rooms on the ground and first floors have a level roof while the side ones are subdivided into small cells, connected via arches with the main room, which functions as corridor.

In the narrow corridor which connects the large underground room with the ground floor of the three-storey structure, a marble pedestal of Early Christian date was excavated, having most likely come from a small church. As well as the floor of a Middle Byzantine edifice (10th - 11th cent=. In the northern room of the ground floor, four square bases of a colonnade are visible at floor'level, denoting the position of an Early Christian or Middle Byzantine basilica, which was most likely incorporated in the Byzantine phase of the castle. On the eastern side of the thi'sectioned vaulted ground floor, a great apse can also be seen of the tri-sectioned vaulted ground floor, a great single-aisled church of french gothic architecture at the beginning of the 13th century. It is probably a chapel of the primary fortification of the Knight Templars on the island of Cyprus. The spiral Staircase preserved in the southwestern corner was probably part of this church, leading its roof.

Castle of Lemesos Medieval Museum of Cyprus
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The destruction of the medieval phase of the castle happened during the Genoese raids in 1373 where they are reported to have assailed the castle and torched the town. During th 14th century, travellers also report that the city was in shambles and almost uninhabited. It appears that the castle underwent repairs by the beginning og the 15th century, since it was an element of the city's deences against Genoese attacks in 1402 and 1408. A 14th' centuryt tombstone, found during the construction of the Chursch of Panagia Katholiki and depicting a castle with three towers, may reefr to the form of the castle during this period.


in 1413, the castle successfully withstood the first attack by the Egyptian Mamelukes, but could not stand against the attack of 1425, most likely due to the damage incurred from the first attack as well as the subsequent earthquakes.


A new earthquake securely hit the monument in 1491. Finally, 4'-5 years before Ottoman invasion of 1570, due to the Venetians having decided to shift their defence to the Keryneia'Lefkosia )Nicosia-Ammochostos (Famagusta) axis, the castle was town down to prevent it begin taken over by the invaders. The destruction was then made complete by subsequent earth tremors in the vicinity. The remains were incorporated into the Ottoman building phase of 1590. That was when the cell of the ground and first storeys were adapted and used as a prison, from at least the 19th century until 1950.
Control of the castle was the given to the Department of Antiquities, which used it as the Lemesos District Archeological Museum. During the period of 1963-1974, it was put to use as guard post for the National Guard. In 1975, the archeological collections were moved to the present-day District Archeological Museum and since 1987 the castle houses the Cyprus Medieval Museum.


in theCastle of Lemosos, which happens to be both a Museum and an Ancient Museum, artefacts are displayed which reflect the politcal, economic, social and artistic development of Cyprus as wella s everyday life on the island dfrom the 3rd to the 19th century A.D. The historical periods represented in the Cyprus Medieval Museum exihibition are as follow:

Early Chstian Period (324-650 A.D.)
Period of Arab Invasions / Early Byzantine period (650-965 A.D.)
Middle Byzantine period (965-1192 A.D.)
Period of Frankish rule (1192-1489 A.D.)
Period of Venetian rule (1489-1570 A.D.)
Period of Ottoman rule (1570-1878 A.D.)

Source: guide depliant


Department of Antiquities, Cyprus

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