Larnaca Castle ( el, Κάστρο Λάρνακας; tr, Larnaka Kalesi) is a castle located on the southern coast of

Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is geo ...

. It was constructed to defend the southern coast of Cyprus and the harbour town of

Larnaca Larnaca ( el, Λάρνακα ; tr, Larnaka) is a city on the south east coast of Cyprus and the capital of the district of the same name. It is the third-largest city in the country, after Nicosia and Limassol, with a metro population of 144 ...

and was later used as an artillery station, prison, and a museum.

History

has been inhabited since the 14th century B.C. when the Mycenaean-Achaeans Greeks founded a small town. Much later, the Byzantines constructed a small fort near its harbour. It is not clear when the Byzantine fort was first built but archeological research carried out around the castle suggest that initial construction started in late 12th century AD. The city gained importance during the medieval ages after the Genovese occupied the main port of the country, Famagusta, and the need for a new port town emerged. Soon after Larnaca became one of the main ports of the Kingdom of Cyprus, and the need for a castle protecting the city and the harbour emerged. Between the years 1382–98, during the reign of

James I James I may refer to: People *James I of Aragon (1208–1276) *James I of Sicily or James II of Aragon (1267–1327) *James I, Count of La Marche (1319–1362), Count of Ponthieu *James I, Count of Urgell (1321–1347) *James I of Cyprus (1334–13 ...

, the small Byzantine fortification located near the harbour was upgraded to a more substantial castle. By the 18th century the castle started losing importance and was abandoned. In the first half of the 18th century, a famous explorer, Abbot Giovanni Mariti, recorded that the castle was in a semi-ruined state; yet there was still garrison protecting it. He theorised that the castle could have been built by the

Ottomans The Ottoman Turks ( tr, Osmanlı Türkleri), were the Turkic founding and sociopolitically the most dominant ethnic group of the Ottoman Empire ( 1299/1302–1922). Reliable information about the early history of Ottoman Turks remains scarce, ...

due to its Turkish style and inscriptions. Throughout

British rule The British Raj (; from Hindi ''rāj'': kingdom, realm, state, or empire) was the rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent; * * it is also called Crown rule in India, * * * * or Direct rule in India, * Quote: "Mill, who was himsel ...

the castle was used as a prison where they installed a gallows to execute prisoners. The last execution took place in 1948. During the Cypriot civil war Greek Cypriots held the castle and they too used it as a prison.

Current use

After the Cypriot independence the castle itself was converted into a

museum A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and other objects of artistic, cultural, historical, or scientific importance. Many public museums make these ...

, while the castle courtyard was converted into an open-air theatre, accommodating 200 people. Antiques from

Early Christian Early Christianity (up to the First Council of Nicaea in 325) spread from the Levant, across the Roman Empire, and beyond. Originally, this progression was closely connected to already established Jewish centers in the Holy Land and the Jewish d ...

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 Constantinopl ...

, and Post Byzantine Cyprus are exhibited in the western room of the museum whilst Byzantine wall paintings are exhibited in the central room and medieval pottery, utensils, and weapons occupy the eastern room.

Gallery

File:Larnaca 01-2017 img01 Larnaca Fort.jpg, Exterior File:Entrance of Ancient Larnaca Castle 4.JPG, Entrance File:Larnaca castle.jpg, Interior File:2022 Larnaca castle courtyard.jpg, Interior

References

{{Castles in Cyprus Castles in Cyprus Museums in Cyprus Byzantine forts Buildings and structures in Larnaca