Saranta Kolones

Saranta Kolones (Greek: Κάστρο Σαράντα Κολώνες, Forty columns castle) is a ruined medieval fortress inside the Paphos Archaeological Park, just north of the harbour of Paphos, on the island of Cyprus. It takes its name from the large number of granite columns that were found on the site and probably once formed part of the ancient agora. The Byzantine castle is believed to have been built at the end of the 7th century AD to protect the port and the city of Nea Pafos from Arab raids and later remodeled by the Lusignans. The Fortress had a three-metre (9.8 ft) thick wall with four huge corner towers and another four intermediary towers along the joining walls and moat surrounding the castle. it was accessed from a wooden bridge spanning the moat.

The square courtyard measured 35 by 35 metres (115 by 115 ft), with a tower at each corner. The main entrance was through a fifth, horseshoe-shaped tower on the east side. The castle was destroyed by an earthquake in 1222, and subsequently abandoned. A series of excavations have taken place in modern times.

Text adapted from “Saranta Kolones” on Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Saranta Kolones ranks #3,501 of 7,738 worldwide in the atlas's castle fame ranking, and #6 of the 7 mapped in Cyprus. Founded c. 675, it is older than 96% of the atlas's dated landmarks — one of 31 atlas entries founded in the 7th century. 1 more atlas landmarks stand within 25 km. The nearest day-trip guide is Limassol, 59 km away. See how Cyprus compares in the castle statistics.

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Read the full history on Wikipedia ↗