Greece · 13th century
Castle of Akrotiri ranks #7,357 of 9,040 worldwide in the atlas's castle fame ranking, and #85 of the 133 mapped in Greece. Founded c. 1250, it is older than 67% of the atlas's dated landmarks, one of 1091 atlas entries founded in the 13th century. See how Greece compares in the castle statistics.
The Castle of Akrotiri, also known as Castle Akrotiri, Goulas or La Ponta, is a former Venetian castle on the Greek island of Santorini. The now-ruined castle lies at the center of the village of Akrotiri.
The castle was built in the 13th century by the Republic of Venice, which had occupied Santorini in 1207. Eager to fortify the island, the Venetians constructed a number of fortresses and watchtowers at key points around the island. Near the small hillside village of Akrotiri, Venetians engineers constructed a new castle on top of an existing Byzantine watchtower; this castle became one of the most defensible positions on the island. The fortress remained unconquered throughout the first of the Ottoman-Venetian Wars before finally surrendering to the Ottomans in 1617. The castle remained in relatively good condition until it was reduced to a ruin by an earthquake in 1956.
Text adapted from “Castle of Akrotiri” on Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
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