The Akova Castle () is a medieval fortification in

Gortynia Gortynia () is a municipality in the Arcadia regional unit, Peloponnese, Greece. The seat of the municipality is the town Dimitsana. The municipality has an area of 1,050.882 km2. Municipality The municipality Gortynia was formed at the 20 ...

, Arcadia,

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

. The medieval castle, also known as Mattegriffon, is built on top of a steep hill, inaccessible from the three sides. The castle was the centre of the

Barony of Akova The Barony of Akova was a medieval Frankish fiefdom of the Principality of Achaea, located in the mountains of eastern Elis in the Peloponnese peninsula in Greece, centred on the fortress of Akova or Mattegrifon (situated near Vyziki in the Tropa ...

, one of the most important lordships of the

Frankish Frankish may refer to: * Franks, a Germanic tribe and their culture ** Frankish language or its modern descendants, Franconian languages, a group of Low Germanic languages also commonly referred to as "Frankish" varieties * Francia, a post-Roman ...

Principality of Achaea The Principality of Achaea () or Principality of Morea was one of the vassal states of the Latin Empire, which replaced the Byzantine Empire after the capture of Constantinople during the Fourth Crusade. It became a vassal of the Kingdom of Thes ...

, established in the

Morea Morea ( or ) was the name of the Peloponnese peninsula in southern Greece during the Middle Ages and the early modern period. The name was used by the Principality of Achaea, the Byzantine province known as the Despotate of the Morea, by the O ...

after the

Fourth Crusade The Fourth Crusade (1202–1204) was a Latin Christian armed expedition called by Pope Innocent III. The stated intent of the expedition was to recapture the Muslim-controlled city of Jerusalem, by first defeating the powerful Egyptian Ayyubid S ...

. Below the castle are ruins of an unidentified ancient acropolis, possibly ancient Teuthis. For the last 40 years, Akova has been the site of a summer festival, involving theatrical plays and other cultural activities, hosted by the nearby village of Vyziki.

Sources

* * {{coord, 37.7176, 21.9881, type:landmark_region:GR, display=title Castles and fortifications of the Principality of Achaea Buildings and structures in Arcadia, Peloponnese 13th-century fortifications in Greece Medieval sites in Peloponnese (region)