Rhodes Saint Nicholas Fortress

Location: Mandraki

The Fortress of Agios Nikolaos (Saint Nicholas) is a stand-alone fort at the northern edge of the jetty in Mandraki harbor. It was built during the rule of the Grand Master Piero Raimondo Zacosta, around 1464-1467, due to the location’s strategic importance for the city’s defense.

DISCOVER RHODES WITH OUR TOURS!
Book an unforgettable Tour in Rhodes or get there with your own rental car.

It is an imposing edifice erected on a natural widening of the shore. Prior to its construction, only a church dedicated to Agios Nikolaos stood there, and it was this church that gave the fort its name. Over the years, it was successively damaged by earthquakes and Ottoman raids, so several reconstruction and expansion phases can be discerned in its masonry. Moreover, several marble fragments, which seem to have come from unidentified Hellenistic monuments, have been incorporated into the walls. A hypothesis has even been put forward that they belonged to the marble pedestal on which the Colossus of Rhodes used to stand!

In the mid-17th century, a lighthouse was added to the roof by the French Society of Ottoman Lighthouses, and it is still in operation today. Thirteen windmills also used to stand on the mole in the vicinity of the fort, and the three that have survived to this day give the pier a unique charm. At nighttime, the fort is beautifully lighted, becoming one of the best spots in Rhodes Town for romantic walks and fantastic photos.