Kos Nerantzia Castle

Location: Town

Temporarily closed for restoration

Nerantzia Castle, the most important fortification constructed by the Knights of Saint John on the island of Kos, stands right at the port entrance, on a stretch of land that used to be an island. Along with Petronium (the Castle of Bodrum), it served to control the sea passage to the Holy Land during the Crusades. Flanked by lush lemon and bitter orange trees (nerantzies), it is an imposing structure that provides one of the best-preserved samples of Hospitaller architecture in the Dodecanese.

Though the Knights occupied the island in 1314, the construction of the castle began over a century later, in 1436, and was only completed in 1514. Parts of the ancient city and the Asclepieion of Kos, including columns, inscriptions and architraves, were also used as building material, and they can still be discerned, embedded in the castle walls. For example, over the main gate, there is a Hellenistic frieze adorned with sculpted faces and garlands, while over the Camardino gate, granite pillars, which probably came from the Early Christian basilica at the port, have been placed transversely. Due to the long construction period, the coats of arms of several Grand Masters have also been chiseled on the walls.

The fort consists of two enceintes, the innermost is flanked by four round corner towers. The outer wall, on the other hand, is larger, with massive bastions, battlements and gunports. The decision for its erection was made after 1498 when Turkish raids made it imperative that the defenses should be upgraded according to the latest warfare developments. The two enceintes used to be separated by a wide moat and connected by an arched bridge, but the moat has now been covered to create the so-called Palm Tree Avenue.

Between the inner and outer enceinte stands a restored storehouse, which today houses an exhibition of ancient architectural members of Kos, as well as temporary exhibitions of altarpieces, sculptures and inscriptions.

Eventually, in 1522, Kos was conquered by the Ottomans, who used the castle as a barracks for the town garrison and as the residence of the Turkish commander during the 19th century. However, in 1816, a gunpowder magazine accidentally exploded, and a large part of the castle was destroyed. Its present form is due to the Italians, who attempted to restore it to its original form during their rule on the Dodecanese. Later, during the period of the German occupation, Nerantzia Castle was used as a prison for Greek resistance fighters, while in 1948, it was declared a listed historical monument.