Castle
| Department | Archive |
|---|---|
| Collection | Byzantine Research Fund |
| Reference No. | BRF/02/01/15/012 |
| Level | Item |
| Place |
Modon |
| Dates | 1906-1907 |
| Donor/Creator |
Hasluck, Dr Frederick William |
| Scope and Content | Distant view of the castle from the coastline. The photograph is annotated in pencil at the back. |
| Further information | Modon castle, one of the most complex and important of the fortifications in mainland Greece, lies on the south-west coastline of the Peloponnese. The ancient city-port of Methone (Modon), which first appears as a Byzantine city in 533, was fortified by the Venetians and flourished from the 13th to the 15th c. -mainly during the crusader period- as a necessary stop-over for the crusaders as well as for the Venetian ships sailing to the eastern Mediterranean. In around 1500 the city fell to the Turks, and in 1686 it was recaptured by the Venetians who enlarged and repaired the forts, only to return to Ottoman rule in 1715. It was abandoned in 1828 when the liberating French troops rebuilt the city outside the walls. |