Kos Antimachia Venetian Castle

Location: Antimachia

Built on a plateau southeast of the present-day Antimachia village, the Antimachia Castle occupied a strategic position controlling the sea passage between Nisyros and Kos, as well as the fertile Kardamena plain and the road that led from Kos Town to Kefalos Castle.

It was a fortified settlement offering shelter not only to the residents of Antimachia but also to the inhabitants of other nearby villages, while, during the rule of the Hospitallers, it was also used as a prison for knights who were charged with insubordination and abuse of office. Though not as well-known as other forts on the island, it played a key role in defending the island from Ottoman invasions and boasts a remarkable history.

According to the extant records, the castle was built between 1322 and 1346 by the Knights of Saint John, under the command of Grand Master Helion de Villeneuve. Occupying an overall surface of 26,250 square meters, it formed an irregular pentagon with a perimeter of 970 meters. The masonry consists of roughly hewn stones, while the corners have been constructed with carefully chiseled tufa rocks. Square gunports and two rows of machicolations (protective boxes through which the defenders of the castle threw stones or boiling liquids) can still be discerned on the walls. One of the castle’s most striking features, though, is the complete absence of any towers.

As the area is relatively flat, the defences erected were truly formidable and were later reinforced even further by the Grand Master Fabrizio del Carretto, who ordered the construction of a massive semicircular bastion around the main gate. Consisting of a batter, a cordon and a parapet, it formed a small courtyard accessed through a drawbridge. Thus, entering the castle was rather complicated, as enemies would have to go through the outer gate on one side of the bastion, and then through the main gate on the enceinte.

The most significant event associated with this castle took place in 1457 when an Ottoman army of 16,000 men besieged it for 23 days. Though Antimachia Castle was only defended by 15 knights and 200-300 mostly unarmed locals, it withstood the attack, inflicting over 1,000 casualties to the attackers and forcing them to abandon the island.

After the Ottomans eventually conquered Kos in 1522, the castle was maintained and a small garrison was stationed there. Following the 1821 Greek War of Independence, though, the Greek residents were forced to abandon the castle, and, after the Turkish garrison left too in 1871, it began to crumble.

Today, the walls are well-preserved on two sides, but not much else remains to be seen within the enceinte besides the Byzantine church of Agios Nikolaos and the chapel of Agia Paraskevi, which dates from the early 18th century. Of the old settlement, only some cisterns and the foundations of the houses have survived to this day. Nevertheless, the castle affords nice views of the surrounding area and the Aegean Sea.