Antimachia Castle (also Fortress Antimachia, also Andimachia Castle, Greek Κάστρο Αντιμάχειας) is a medieval fortress on the Greek island of Kos, built by the Order of Saint John. It is located up on the hills above Kardamena and about 3 km east of the village Antimachia. The strategic position on a plateau above the bay of Kardamena allowed the control of the sea route between Kos and the island of Nisyros laying south and of the north-south connection in the interior of the island.
History
The castle was probably built between 1337 and 1346 Dunter the Grand Master of the Knights of St. John Helion de Villeneuve at a place where already in Byzantine times there was a fortress of some kind before. The castle was able to fend off several Ottoman attacks in the 15th and 16th centuries, including the 23-day siege of the island in June 1457. After Neratzia Castle in Kos Town, Peripato Castle and the surrounding area were abandoned, the Island population, then about 12,000 people, tried to find safety in the castles of Palio Pyli, Kefalos and Andimachia. During the siege 15 of the defenders were killed, while the attackers lost 1,000 men and more than 2,000 were wounded. Only after the siege of Rhodes in 1522 and the defeat of the Order of Saint John Kos came under Ottoman rule.
The settlement in the fortress continued until the beginning of the 19th century, when the inhabitants moved to the nearby town of Antimachia. The stationing Ottoman guards ended in 1871. In two major earthquakes in 1926 and 1933 all the buildings were destroyed inside, but the fortress walls and two churches inside held up.
The fortress is accessible to visitors today.
Photos
Map