Krak des Chevaliers

Krak des Chevaliers, crowning a hilltop in the hills of western Syria, is widely regarded as the finest and best-preserved Crusader castle in the world, a UNESCO World Heritage site of breathtaking scale and design. Built and expanded by the Knights Hospitaller in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, its formidable concentric rings of massive stone walls, round towers, a sloping glacis and a great vaulted hall could shelter a garrison for years. T. E. Lawrence called it the most wholly admirable castle in the world. Commanding sweeping views over the surrounding valleys, it is a supreme and awe-inspiring masterpiece of medieval military architecture.

History

In 1031 the Mirdasid emir of Aleppo and Homs settled Kurdish troops in a fort here to guard the road between Homs and Tripoli, which gave it its Arabic name, Hisn al-Akrad, fortress of the Kurds. Crusaders under Raymond IV of Toulouse found it deserted in 1099, Tancred took it for good in 1110, and in 1142 Raymond II, Count of Tripoli, gave it to the Knights Hospitaller, who rebuilt it from the 1140s until an earthquake damaged it in 1170 and made it a centre of their border castles; nothing of the earliest castle survives. The Muslims retook it in 1271, a village of some 500 people that had grown up inside the walls was moved out in 1933, when the French authorities cleared and restored the castle (Wikipedia, Krak des Chevaliers).

Highlights

• The concentric walls - the massive double rings of stone defences.
• The round towers - the great towers and sloping glacis.
• The vaulted hall - the soaring Gothic knights' hall.
• The ramparts - the sweeping views over the valleys.

When to go

Spring and autumn, roughly March to May and September to November, are the most pleasant for exploring the castle's ramparts and halls in mild weather, with green hills in spring; the hilltop can be hot in summer and cold and misty in winter. Clear days give the finest views from the walls.

What to expect

The castle remains remarkably intact, and its hilltop setting involves a fair amount of climbing stairs and ramparts. As the finest and best-preserved Crusader castle on earth, a UNESCO World Heritage masterpiece of massive walls and towers, though, Krak des Chevaliers is an awe-inspiring and unforgettable sight.

Nearby

The city of Homs and the western Syrian hills lie around the castle.

Key facts