Chlemoutsi Castle

Chlemoutsi was built between 1220 and 1223 by Geoffrey I of Villehardouin, the Frankish prince of Achaea, using, tradition says, materials taken from church lands, which earned him excommunication. Its plan is unusual and imposing: a hexagonal inner keep of enormous vaulted galleries around a central court, wrapped in an outer bailey following the hill's shape. The vaults are the finest surviving Frankish military architecture in Greece, and the gallery rooms now hold an exhibition on the crusader states of the Peloponnese, with armour, coins and ceramics. From the parapets the view runs over the plain of Elis, the Ionian Sea and, on clear days, Zakynthos and Kefalonia. The castle later served Byzantine, Venetian and Ottoman garrisons, and restoration work has kept much of it walkable.

History

The castle was built between 1220 and 1223 under Geoffrey I of Villehardouin, Prince of Achaea, after a dispute with the clergy, who held almost a third of the principality's land but owed no military service and refused his request for more help in its defence. It stood on a plateau 226 metres above the sea, some 13 kilometres from the princely capital of Andravida and about 5 kilometres from the chief port of Glarentza, the administrative heart of the principality, guarding the fertile plain of Elis. When Prince William II died in 1278 the principality passed to Charles of Anjou, but Chlemoutsi, granted to his widow Anna Komnene Doukaina, stayed with her, and in 1280 she married the baron Nicholas II of Saint Omer (Wikipedia, Chlemoutsi).

Highlights

• The hexagonal keep - great vaulted galleries around an inner court.
• The Frankish exhibition - crusader-period objects displayed in the vaults.
• The ramparts - views across Elis to the Ionian islands.
• The outer bailey - curtain walls and gate following the hilltop.

When to go

Spring and autumn; the hilltop is exposed and hot in midsummer. Late afternoon gives the best light over the sea, and the castle sometimes hosts summer events.

Before you go

Parts of the structure close for restoration from time to time. There is little shade, and the interior galleries are dim. The village below has few services, so plan meals around Kyllini or Loutra.

Nearby

The ferry port of Kyllini for Zakynthos and Kefalonia is minutes away; Ancient Olympia lies an hour southeast.

Key facts