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Chlemoutsi Castle

Chlemoutsi Castle

Photo: dronepicr · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Location
Kastro-Kyllini, Greece
Client / Owner
Geoffrey I of Villehardouin
Year
Completed 1220
Access
Tickets required

Chlemoutsi, also called Clermont, is a medieval citadel in northwest Elis, Greece. Geoffrey I of Villehardouin, Prince of Achaea, began it around 1220 and finished by about 1223, funding it with Church property he confiscated. It sits on a plateau 741 feet (226 meters) above sea level, with a wide view over the Elis plain and the Ionian Islands.

A large hexagonal keep, about 295 by 197 feet (90 by 60 meters), surrounds an inner courtyard of roughly 200 by 102 feet (61 by 31 meters). Two-story halls ring the courtyard. The architecture is mostly French, a transition from Romanesque, with some Byzantine elements, and the Ottomans later added artillery platforms.

It served as a princely residence and a prison for distinguished captives. In 1825 Ibrahim Pasha's forces dismantled part of its walls. It is now a monument open to the public.

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