Greece · 6th century
The Castle of Mytilene, also Fortress of Mytilene, is located in Mytilene on the Greek island of Lesbos, North Aegean. It is maintained in good condition and is one of the largest castles in the Mediterranean covering an area of 60 acres. The first castle on the site may have been erected during the time of Justinian I (ruled 527–565). The 6th-century castle may have been built on top of an already existent fortress. In the Late Middle Ages, the castle was the residence of Francesco I Gattilusio and his successors, especially the tower known today as the Queen's Tower. There is also strong evidence that the original acropolis on the site may have included a sanctuary to Demeter, Kore and Cybele.
Text adapted from “Castle of Mytilene” on Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Castle of Mytilene ranks #2,282 of 9,079 worldwide in the atlas's castle fame ranking, and #42 of the 134 mapped in Greece. Founded c. 527, it is older than 97% of the atlas's dated landmarks — one of 39 atlas entries founded in the 6th century. Its Wikipedia articles were opened 2,128 times in the last 60 days, more than 71% of the atlas. See how Greece compares in the castle statistics.
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