Exomvourgo or Exobourgo ( el, Εξώμβουργο/Εξώμπουργκο, /) is a mountain on the island of
Tinos
Tinos ( el, Τήνος ) is a Greek island situated in the Aegean Sea. It is located in the Cyclades archipelago. The closest islands are Andros, Delos, and Mykonos. It has a land area of and a 2011 census population of 8,636 inhabitants.
Tin ...
. It has a rugged appearance, unlike the other mountains in the
Cyclades
The Cyclades (; el, Κυκλάδες, ) are an island group in the Aegean Sea, southeast of mainland Greece and a former administrative prefecture of Greece. They are one of the island groups which constitute the Aegean archipelago. The na ...
and is the site of a ruined
Venetian
Venetian often means from or related to:
* Venice, a city in Italy
* Veneto, a region of Italy
* Republic of Venice (697–1797), a historical nation in that area
Venetian and the like may also refer to:
* Venetian language, a Romance language s ...
fortress and town.
Exomvourgo is not the highest mountain on the island—that is
Tsiknias—but is in a central location ringed by many small villages such as
Tripotamos and
Falatados and can be climbed from several of these. The walk up from ''Iera Kardia Iisou'' takes around 20 minutes. The former
Exomvourgos municipality shares its name with the mountain.
Ancient History
Remains dating from the
Copper Age
The Copper Age, also called the Chalcolithic (; from grc-gre, χαλκός ''khalkós'', "copper" and ''líthos'', "Rock (geology), stone") or (A)eneolithic (from Latin ''wikt:aeneus, aeneus'' "of copper"), is an list of archaeologi ...
have been found near Exomvourgo
and
Geometric period and
5-6th century BC remains have been found at archaeological excavations at mountain's southern foot including a temple of
Demeter. A large wall from an
Ionian
Ionic or Ionian may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* Ionic meter, a poetic metre in ancient Greek and Latin poetry
* Ionian mode, a musical mode or a diatonic scale
Places and peoples
* Ionian, of or from Ionia, an ancient region in western ...
town dating from 1100 BC is sited southwest of Exomvourgo.
In the fourth century BC the island's administrative centre moved back from Exomvourgo to the coast.
Fortress and town

Under
Byzantine
The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantin ...
rule a fortress, later named by the Venetians ''Castello di Santa Elena'' after a chapel on the summit, was built on the mountain and Exomvourgo functioned as the island's capital.
The mountain was the site of a fortress and town functioning as the administrative centre of the island from 1207 when the island, along with
Andros
Andros ( el, Άνδρος, ) is the northernmost island of the Greece, Greek Cyclades archipelago, about southeast of Euboea, and about north of Tinos. It is nearly long, and its greatest breadth is . It is for the most part mountainous, with ...
,
Skiathos,
Skopelos and
Skyros
Skyros ( el, Σκύρος, ), in some historical contexts Latinized Scyros ( grc, Σκῦρος, ), is an island in Greece, the southernmost of the Sporades, an archipelago in the Aegean Sea
The Aegean Sea ; tr, Ege Denizi (Greek: Αι ...
became a
fiefdom
A fief (; la, feudum) was a central element in medieval contracts based on feudal law. It consisted of a form of property holding or other rights granted by an overlord to a vassal, who held it in fealty or "in fee" in return for a form of ...
of the Venetian brothers Jeremie and Andre Ghisi following the partition of the Byzantine Empire after the fall of
Constantinople
la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه
, alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth ( Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis ( ...
during the
Fourth Crusade.
In 1390, after the death of Batholomew III Ghisi,
the
Venetian Republic
The Republic of Venice ( vec, Repùblega de Venèsia) or Venetian Republic ( vec, Repùblega Vèneta, links=no), traditionally known as La Serenissima ( en, Most Serene Republic of Venice, italics=yes; vec, Serenìsima Repùblega de Venèsia, ...
assumed direct control and further fortified the mountain. The island fell to the
Ottoman admiral
Hayreddin Barbarossa
Hayreddin Barbarossa ( ar, خير الدين بربروس, Khayr al-Din Barbarus, original name: Khiḍr; tr, Barbaros Hayrettin Paşa), also known as Hızır Hayrettin Pasha, and simply Hızır Reis (c. 1466/1478 – 4 July 1546), was an O ...
in 1537 but was recaptured by the Venetians in 1538.
The fortress was then further expanded until it featured 600 m long
ramparts and towers facing in all directions. In this era the town inside the castle had a population of 1000-2000 and contained 677 houses, 5 churches and some storage areas and
reservoir
A reservoir (; from French ''réservoir'' ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam. Such a dam may be either artificial, built to store fresh water or it may be a natural formation.
Reservoirs can be created in a number of ways, including control ...
s.
In 1570 a force of 8,000 Ottoman troops and several cannons, commanded by
Canum Pasha, besieged the mountain, but were successfully repulsed. Further failed attempts to capture the fortress were made in 1655, 1658, 1661, and 1684.
By 1700 the fortifications were not in a good state and the fortress was only manned by 14 soldiers.
The Venetians remained in charge until 1715 during the
last Ottoman–Venetian war when, long after the rest of the Cyclades had fallen to the Turks, it was besieged by a Turkish force of 65
warship
A warship or combatant ship is a naval ship that is built and primarily intended for naval warfare. Usually they belong to the armed forces of a state. As well as being armed, warships are designed to withstand damage and are usually faster a ...
s and 74
transports carrying 25,000 soldiers. Despite the fortress being regarded as unconquerable
and seeming secure against the invaders the commander of the fortress negotiated terms and surrendered. The terms allowed all the Venetians on the island to leave with the Greeks forced to stay.
The commander and his officers were accused of "
treason
Treason is the crime of attacking a state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its diplo ...
after
bribery
Bribery is the offering, giving, receiving, or soliciting of any item of value to influence the actions of an official, or other person, in charge of a public or legal duty. With regard to governmental operations, essentially, bribery is "Co ...
" by the Venetian Republic and sentenced to death by swallowing liquid silver/having liquid silver poured on their bodies
Bernardo Balbi the rector (governor) of the island, was transferred to Venice and sentenced to life imprisonment for cowardice. The Ottomans almost completely dismantled the fortress and the town inside it within a period of 3 days.
The town on the mountain was previously known as Tinos (''Tine'' or ''Tino'' to the Venetians) with the current town of
Tinos
Tinos ( el, Τήνος ) is a Greek island situated in the Aegean Sea. It is located in the Cyclades archipelago. The closest islands are Andros, Delos, and Mykonos. It has a land area of and a 2011 census population of 8,636 inhabitants.
Tin ...
previously known as San Nicolò.
The name Exomvourgo derives from the
Greek
Greek may refer to:
Greece
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group.
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family.
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
''exo apo to bourgo'' meaning "outside the
burg".
Sacred Heart of Jesus
The church of ''Iera Kardia Iisou'' (Sacred Heart of Jesus) is on the slopes of the mountain, it is now a
Catholic
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwide . It is am ...
monastery
A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone ( hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer whic ...
.
The church has a complicated history: originally the Cathedral of
Saint Sofia stood within the walls of the fortress but after its destruction the
Jesuit monks moved into a small church outside the walls and began to build a larger church next door. This was finished in 1725 and also dedicated to Saint Sofia. The Jesuits later left the church and it fell into disrepair. In 1895 the church was restored and renamed the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Today the church is a site of
pilgrimage
A pilgrimage is a journey, often into an unknown or foreign place, where a person goes in search of new or expanded meaning about their self, others, nature, or a higher good, through the experience. It can lead to a personal transformation, aft ...
and hosts visitors from around the world.
See also
*
List of Jesuit sites
This list includes past and present buildings, facilities and institutions associated with the Society of Jesus. In each country, sites are listed in chronological order of start of Jesuit association.
Nearly all these sites have bee ...
Notes
:1.Other references state this was after an intermediate period under George III
References
{{Castles in Greece
Mountains of Greece
Venetian archaeological sites in Greece
Forts in Greece
Landforms of Tinos
Jesuit churches
Mountains of the South Aegean