1950

A note on the building and its adaptation for use as the Limassol District Museum.

History of the Castle.

This building is not the Castle which existed in Limassol in the 13th century. Originally it was a church, built in the time of the Lusignan Kings and designed for the Latin rite. It probably remained in use as a church until 1373, when Limassol was devastated and burnt by the Genoese.

Something of the main walls of the original church can be seen in the lower hall of the west tower (where the original entrance door can be seen blocked up in the west wall) and the east end of the basement and in the back walls of the cells. The windows, of which a good example can be seen in the small chamber immediately opposite the entrance, are in the Gothic style of the 13th century. Consequently, in spite of traditions to the contrary, it is unlikely that this was the church where Richard Lionheart and Berengaria of Navarre were married in 1191.

The greater part of Limassol remained ruined and uninhabited for several years after its destruction by the Genoese. When James I (1382-1398) decided to build a new fortress, rather than rebuild the old Castle, he chose for the purpose the shell of this 13th century church. The western section was covered with a new vault and a tower was raised over it. In the eastern section the basement vaults were constructed and the lower storey of cells standing on them. Above the latter, where the upper (Turkish) cells now are, there seems to have been an open platform round what was left of the original walls of the church. This platform was reached by a spiral stair on the north side of the entrance section. The entrance was moved to the present position, high above ground level, where formerly had been one of the windows of the church.

The stronghold thus devised withstood renewed Genoese attacks in 1402 and 1407, but fell to the Mameluke invaders in 1425, when it was stormed by ramming a weak point notified by an escaped Egyptian prisoner. It was probably during the repairs which followed the departure of the Mamelukes that the western section was re-vaulted on the massive piers, which still stand against the walls, and a central one now missing.

Under the Venetians the Castle continued to be garrisoned, but when it was captured during a Turkish raid in 1538 it was decided to dismantle it. After the Turkish conquest it remained ruinous until about 1600, when it was repaired to serve as a small fort and gaol. The Turkish work included the repair of the vault in the west section (where the central column had fallen), the construction of the two squat towers, the addition of the upper cells, the vaulting of the entrance section and the addition of an outer skin of masonry round the whole building.

After the British occupation the building remained in use as a prison. Various improvements were carried out including the construction of the present roof and windows above the cells, and the removal of the floor between the two storeys of cells to admit light and air to the lower ones. Steps were also taken to protect the more ancient parts of the building, which was in due course declared an Ancient Monument.