Acropolis of Kazarma
| Acropolis of Kazarma | ||
|---|---|---|
 Polygonal south-east wall with central Byzantine repairs |
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| Alternative name (s): | Xerokastelli | |
| Creation time : | 5th or 4th century BC Chr. | |
| Castle type : | Rock castle | |
| Conservation status: | ruin | |
| Construction: | Polygonal masonry | |
| Place: | Agios Ioannis | |
| Geographical location | 37 ° 35 '49 " N , 22 ° 56' 31" E | |
| Height: | 280 m | |
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The Acropolis of Kazarma ( Greek Ακρόπολη Καζάρμας ) is an ancient fortification in the Argolis . In the Middle Ages the castle was called Xerokastelli ( Greek Ξεροκαστέλι ). This name was still used by the locals until the 19th century. It is located south of the Arachnaion Mountains , 400 m north of Agios Ioannis, a district of Arkadiko , on a 280 m high hill. The Kastraki fortress is 2.5 km to the northeast .
description
The castle is relatively small with about 3500 m² and extends from north to south about 70 m and from west to east about 80 m. To the south and east, the Acropolis is protected by a wall about 2.50 m thick, which has been preserved up to a height of 5.20 m. In the far west and east and at the two corners there were a total of four round towers. In the northwest there was only a thin wall, as the terrain here is very steep and therefore there was no danger from this side. These fortifications are made of polygonal masonry dating from the 5th or 4th century BC. BC. In addition to the two outer towers, there was one entrance each. The main gate in the southwest was 2.40 m high and 0.90 m wide and had a triangular door arch. A road led from the east along the south wall over a ramp to the forecourt of the gate. Next to the east tower there was a small back entrance with a large monolithic lintel .
Inside the castle there is a structure commonly called a cistern. It is built from massive Cyclopean walls and the roof is formed by a cantilever vault . In the Middle Byzantine period (650–1204) the castle was restored with small unworked stones and clay bricks. Two towers were renewed and the walls repaired and raised. In Franconian times a square tower was built on the ruins of the east tower. There are some remains of a settlement on the southern slope. When Ernst Curtius visited Kazarma around 1850, he recognized the remains of a temple and a water pipe. Buildings of a settlement were found on the slope south of the castle.
history
The name of the castle comes from the Slavic ( Bulgarian Казарма) and means barracks and was the original name of the place Agios Ioannis. The hill was already there from 3200 to 1100 BC. Settled. Some Mycenaean bridges , remains of roads and the Tholos tomb of Kazarma show that there was at least a Mycenaean settlement in the vicinity. In the 5th or 4th century BC A castle was probably built here by the city of Argos . Possibly it is the border fortress Lessa mentioned in Pausanias , which lay between the Argolic land and Epidaurus . The castle protected the road from Nafplio to Epidaurus, which passed immediately south of the hill.
The castle was used again in the Middle Byzantine period. After the conquest of the Peloponnese by the Franks, the castle came into the possession of the Prince of Archea , Gottfried I von Villehardouin . However, this entrusted Otto de la Roche , the Duke of Athens , with the Argolis. On April 23, 1358 Robert of Taranto entrusted Niccolò Acciaiuoli for his services to the Corinthian castellany , which included eight other castles as well as Xerokastelli, as a hereditary barony . It was first mentioned in 1377 under the name Sorcastelli . It remained in the possession of the Acciaiuoli family until it was conquered by Mehmet II in 1460 . During this military operation the castle was destroyed and so it is reported in 1467 that Sero Castellia , as it was now called, was in ruins. It was probably neither repaired nor used after that time.
Web links
- Ακρόπολη Καζάρμας. Retrieved July 29, 2014 .
- The ancient acropolis of Kazarma. Retrieved July 29, 2014 .
- Kazarma. Archived from the original on May 25, 2008 ; accessed on May 16, 2018 .
- Acropolis of Kazarma. Retrieved July 29, 2014 .
Individual evidence
- ↑ Jean Alexandre Buchon : La Grèce continentale et la Morée, voyage, séjour et études historiques en 1840 et 1841 , Paris 1843, p. 377 ( online )
- ^ Richard Speicher: Peloponnese . 2nd Edition. W. Kohlhammer, Stuttgart / Berlin / Cologne 1980, ISBN 3-17-010031-9 , pp. 183-184 .
- ↑ Jean Alexandre Buchon: La Grèce continentale et la Morée, voyage, séjour et études historiques en 1840 et 1841 , Paris 1843, p. 377 ( online )
- ^ Ernst Curtius : Peloponnesos. A historical-geographical description of the peninsula . tape 2 . Justus Perthes , Gotha 1852, p. 417 ( digitized version ).
- ^ Richard Speicher: Peloponnese . 2nd Edition. W. Kohlhammer, Stuttgart / Berlin / Cologne 1980, ISBN 3-17-010031-9 , pp. 183-184 .
- ^ Richard Speicher: Peloponnese . 2nd Edition. W. Kohlhammer, Stuttgart / Berlin / Cologne 1980, ISBN 3-17-010031-9 , pp. 183-184 .
- ^ Pausanias, Journeys in Greece 2, 25, 10 - 2, 26, 1.
- ^ Ferdinand Gregorovius : History of the city of Athens in the Middle Ages. From the time of Justinian to the Turkish conquest. , Munich 1980, ISBN 3-406-07951-2 , p. 397