Neratzia
| Neratzia Fortress (Κάστρο της Νερατζιάς) | ||
|---|---|---|
 Neratzia from the south |
||
| Alternative name (s): | Narangia Castle | |
| Creation time : | 14.-16. century | |
| Conservation status: | ruin | |
| Geographical location | 36 ° 53 '46 " N , 27 ° 17' 26" E | |
|
||
The fortress Neratzia ( Greek Κάστρο της Νερατζιάς ( n. Sg. ), Rare fort Narangia) is a Johanniter fortress in the city of Kos on the Greek island of the same name on the Gulf of Kos .
Surname
The name Neratzia refers to the then numerous bitter orange trees in the vicinity of the castle and was also used for the city and island of Kos.
location
The fortress is located on a narrow peninsula east of the Mandraki port (Λιμάνι Mανδράκι) and north of the palm boulevard Leoforos ton Finikon (Λεωφόρος των Φοινίκων also Odos Finikon Οδός Φοινίκων). The island's ferry port is at the northern end of the peninsula.
A stone of the platia Platanou (Πλατεία του Πλατάνου, plane space ') on the Palm Avenue , a former moat, forms the only access.
Due to the location of the island of Kos in front of the Gulf of Gökova ( Turkish Gökova Körfezi ) also (Κεραμεικός κόλπος Gulf of Keramos ), the Neratzia fortress served to defend the port . Control of the sea route between Constantinople and Alexandria was carried out together with the St. Peter's fortress of St. Peter in Bodrum , about 20 km northwest of Asia Minor .
history
The area was already settled in ancient times. The existence of fortifications from the Byzantine period or earlier is still unclear, as archaeological investigations have not yet been carried out. The fortress was built on a former island or headland. In the first written mention from 1395, the Italian traveler Nicolo de Martoni describes the fortress as impregnable as it is surrounded by the sea on three sides and a lake on the fourth. He emphasized that the sea connects to the lake under a drawbridge.
After the possession of the island of Kos in 1314 by the Order of St. John under Grand Master Foulques de Villaret , his successor Helion de Villeneuve probably had the first work carried out. Construction began around 1377 under Jean Fernandez de Heredia . Ancient ruins of the city, which was destroyed in an earthquake, and the Asklepieion were also used as building materials. The constantly recurring clashes with the Ottoman Empire and with Egyptian Mamluks made improvements and expansions necessary from the middle of the 15th century. The Venetian nobleman Fantino Quirini and Count von Stampalia received the island of Kos on condition that it defended it against the Ottomans. In 1440 he fended off an attack by Mamluken. After an order from Rhodes in June 1444 to hold the island under all circumstances, he gave up the unprotected city. At the same time he had the surrounding huts destroyed in order to further strengthen the fortress. After the siege of Rhodes by Mamluks in August 1444, Fantino Quirini negotiated an armistice for Kos and the nearby islands in November of the same year. In 1445, under Jean de Lastic and Jacques de Milly , a semicircular tower was built in front of the entrance on the south side. Even after the fall of Constantinople in 1453, the Johanniter on Rhodes controlled the sea route between Constantinople and Alexandria. On June 3, 1457, 156 Ottoman ships with around 16,000 soldiers landed and found the fortress and the surrounding area deserted. The island population (12,000 people) had withdrawn to the fortresses of Palio Pyli , Kefalos and Andimachia . Although they controlled almost half of the island, they inexplicably left the island after a 23-day siege with looting for inexplicable reasons. Kos was evacuated in March 1461 in order to join forces to defend Rhodes and the fortress of St. Peter. Edoardo de Carmedino had access to the fortress reinforced in 1478.
After a repeated siege of Rhodes (1480) and damage from an earthquake in 1493, the construction of the outer fortress began around 1495 under Pierre d'Aubusson . With the advent of new war techniques, such as the use of black powder , pre-bastions were built on the corners. Emery d'Amboise allowed the work that had begun to be continued and, under Fabrizio del Carretto , the construction work with the bastion in the southwest, which bears his coat of arms, was completed in 1514. The renewed siege of Rhodes (1522) ended with the defeat of the Johanniter, the fortress of Kos was handed over to Ottoman troops on January 6, 1523.
The fortress served as the garrison and seat of the governor during the Ottoman period. Apart from a few buildings, no major structural changes were made. From travel reports of the 19th century it can be seen that foreigners were denied access to the fortress. In addition, the facility was not particularly well maintained, the moat had dried up and the harbor bay silted up. In addition, the explosion of the powder magazine on March 17, 1816 destroyed large parts of the interior of the fortress.
During the extensive restoration work during the Italian period, the few Ottoman remains were largely demolished in order to emphasize the medieval character of the fortress. After the German occupation in October 1943, Greek patriots were imprisoned in the fortress.
Due to earthquake damage, the fortress has been closed to visitors since July 2017.
investment
The castle consists of an inner fortress built in the 13th century. At the end of the 15th century it was reinforced by an additional outer wall ring until 1514. Today there are ancient building fragments lying around everywhere in the castle, as well as pillars, graves and altars. You can recognize several coats of arms of grand masters . A stone bridge leads over the former moat (now a road) into the castle. Ancient stone and marble blocks were used as building materials, including ancient columns and altars from nearby Asklepeion . The inside resembles an open-air museum, in which the visitor can move freely practically anywhere. The ground is covered with the thorny bushes common in the area. Apart from the halls used for archeology, there are no longer any roofs or intermediate floors and nothing of the internal structure of the fortress and its buildings and facilities is recognizable.
literature
- Vasilis Chatzivasiliou [Χατζηβασιλείου Βασίλης]: Τα Κάστρα της Νήσου Κω - Περιήγηση. The Fortresses of the Island of Kos - A sightseeing tour. Athens 2008, p. 102, here pp. 27–57. ISBN 978-960-90677-5-1 , (Greek, English)
- George Markoulakis: Kos - The island and the city. From the Greek by Frank Althaus. Mediterraneo Editiones, Athens 2005, ISBN 960-8227-51-8 .
- Madeleine Reincke, Hilke Maunder, Dieter Luippold: Kos. (= Baedeker Alliance travel guide ). 3rd, completely revised and redesigned edition. Baedeker, Ostfildern 2007, ISBN 978-3-8297-1155-5 , pp. 149-150.
- Jürgen Sarnowsky: Power and rule in the Order of St. John of the 15th century. Constitution and administration of the Johanniter on Rhodes (1421–1522). (= Vita regularis - orders and interpretations of religious life in the Middle Ages. Volume 14). LIT Verlag, Münster / Hamburg et al. 2001, ISBN 3-8258-5481-7 , p. 760.
Web links
- Castle of Neratzia . Ministry of Culture and Sport (English, Greek)
- Το κάστρο της Κω. The Fortress of Kos. Ministry of Culture and Sport, Archaeological Receipts Fund (PDF, Greek, English; 611 kB)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Ellen Katja Jaeckel: Kos , Merian live, ISBN 978-3-8342-1989-3 , p. 41.
- ^ Siege of Kos June 1457 ( Memento from July 25, 2009 in the Internet Archive ), Greek
- ^ Anton Prokesch von Osten , Julius Franz Borgias Schneller, Ernst Münch: Memories and memories from the Orient . First volume. Hallberger'sche Verlagshandlung, Stuttgart 1836. P. 434f
- ^ William Turner : Journal of a Tour in the Levant . Vol. III. London 1820. , p. 41 f. , (English)
- ^ Richard Popplewell Pullan: Report on the island of Cos . In: Charles Thomas Newton, Richard Popplewell Pullan (Eds.): A History of Discoveries at Halicarnassus, Cnidus & Branchidæ . Day & Sun, Lithographers of the Queen, London 1863, XXVII. , P. 632 f. , (English)
- ↑ Castle of Neratzia , Ministry of Culture and Sport, (English)