The Koules () or Castello a Mare ("Fort on the Sea" in Italian) is a fortress located at the entrance of the old port of

Heraklion Heraklion or Herakleion ( ; , , ), sometimes Iraklion, is the largest city and the administrative capital city, capital of the island of Crete and capital of Heraklion (regional unit), Heraklion regional unit. It is the fourth largest city in G ...

Crete Crete ( ; , Modern Greek, Modern: , Ancient Greek, Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the List of islands by area, 88th largest island in the world and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, fifth la ...

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 ...

. It was built by the

Republic of Venice The Republic of Venice, officially the Most Serene Republic of Venice and traditionally known as La Serenissima, was a sovereign state and Maritime republics, maritime republic with its capital in Venice. Founded, according to tradition, in 697 ...

in the early 16th century, and is still in good condition today.

History

The site was possibly first fortified by the

Arabs Arabs (, , ; , , ) are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in West Asia and North Africa. A significant Arab diaspora is present in various parts of the world. Arabs have been in the Fertile Crescent for thousands of yea ...

in the 9th or 10th centuries. By the second Byzantine period, a tower known as ''Castellum Comunis'' stood on the site. In 1303, the tower was destroyed in an earthquake but was repaired. In 1462, the Venetian Senate approved a programme to improve the fortifications of Candia. Eventually, the Byzantine tower was demolished in 1523, and the Castello a Mare began to be built instead. Old ships were filled with stone, and were sunk to form a breakwater and increase the area of the platform on which the fortress was built. The fortress was completed in 1540. In 1630, the fort was armed with 18 cannons on the ground floor, and 25 cannons on the pathway leading to the roof. During the 21-year long Siege of Candia, Ottoman batteries easily neutralised the fort's firepower. The Ottomans eventually took the fort in 1669, after the Venetians surrendered the entire city. They did not make any major alterations to the fort, except for the additions of some battlements and embrasures. They built a small fort known as Little Koules on the landward side, but this was demolished in 1936 while the city was being "modernized". During the period of Egyptian rule in Crete (1830–1840), a lighthouse was built on the north-eastern corner of Koule. In 1930, concrete pillars were added to the lighthouse. The lighthouse was destroyed in World War II but was rebuilt and continued to operate until 1960, when it was renovated and the concrete pillars were removed. The fortress has been restored, and it is now open to the public. Art exhibitions and cultural activities are occasionally held at the fort.

Layout

The fortress is made up of two parts: a high rectangular section, and a slightly lower semi-elliptical section. Its walls are up to 8.7m thick at some places, and it has three entrances. The fort has two stories, with a total of 26 rooms, which were originally used as barracks, a prison, storage rooms, a water reservoir, a church, a mill and a bakery. A lighthouse tower is located on the northern part of the fort.

References

External links

''Castel di Candia''
map by Marco Boschini

Gallery

File:Κούλες_01.jpg, Entrance File:Detail_venetian_fortress_harbour_eastern_part_and_dam_Heraklion.jpg, South wall File:Κούλες_4459.jpg, Interior view with the roof pathway on the right File:Κούλες 11.jpg, Interior view File:Κούλες_4469.jpg, Cannonballs File:Κούλες_4501.jpg, Roof view File:Venitian_Fortress_of_Koules_-_Lion.jpg, Relief of the winged Venetian lion on the north wall File:Night tranquility.jpg, Koules by night {{Castles in Greece Buildings and structures completed in 1540 Buildings and structures in Heraklion Venetian fortifications in Crete Tourist attractions in Crete 16th-century fortifications in Greece