Castle of Kars

The Castle of Kars (Turkish: Kars Kalesi, Armenian: Կարսի բերդ) is a former fortification located in Kars, Turkey. It is also known under the name İç Kale ("Central/Inner Castle", "Citadel").

It was first built during the rule of the Armenian Bagratid dynasty and then rebuilt in 1153 by Firuz Akay Commissioned by Sultan Melik Izzeddin Saltuk II. The outer walls surrounding the city were built in the 12th century. The castle, which was destroyed by Timur in 1386, was rebuilt again in 1579 by Lala Mustafa Pasha, who came to Kars ordered by the Ottoman Sultan Murat III.

It is said in the Ottoman sources that the castle was rebuilt with the help of one hundred thousand soldiers and workers. In 1606, the castle was destroyed by the Iranian Shah Abbas I, and in 1616 and in 1636 it was restored twice and new elements were added to it. The castle was badly damaged after the occupation of the Russians after the Ottoman-Russian War of 1877-1878, and partially changed after 40 years of occupation. The walls of the Castle of Kars were made of basalt masonry.

Text adapted from “Castle of Kars” on Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Castle of Kars ranks #2,611 of 8,133 worldwide in the atlas's castle fame ranking, and #46 of the 129 mapped in Turkey. Founded 1153, it is older than 81% of the atlas's dated landmarks — one of 563 atlas entries founded in the 12th century. Its Wikipedia articles were opened 2,058 times in the last 60 days, more than 68% of the atlas. The nearest day-trip guide is Kars, 1 km away. See how Turkey compares in the castle statistics.

View on the interactive castle map →

Read the full history on Wikipedia ↗