Expedition to Lardos Castle
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Thursday, 18 October 2018
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A walk to discover the ruined remains of Lardos Castle
It would appear that few folk know that Lardos once had a Castle, let alone know of its location. This walk sets out to offer a route to discover this piece of history which is said to date from Byzantine times of the 12th century or even earlier. Little remains of the castle, but the substantial wall with a ruined square tower at its eastern end is an impressive sight that makes the walk a well worth expedition.
Expedition to Lardos Castle - Essential Information
Walk Statistics:
Maps:
The following maps and services can assist in navigating this route. There are links to printed maps and links to downloadable GPX route data for importing into navigational software and apps.
- GPX Route File
Accommodation:
Pefkos Blue Studios, PefkosapartmentView in Google Map
- Website
- http://www.pefkosbluehotel.com/
- Description
- Pefkos Blue formerly known as Dimitri Studios, offering self catering apartment studios overlooking Pefkos village with splendid views across the bay. This is probably the best place in Pefkos if you want to be away from the village. Above the hubbub it offers unrivalled views and a quiet location.
Transport:
Details of public transport that is required for the walk
Rhodes Public Transport - Bus Service
- Service Details
- Gennadi to Rhodes Town - KTEL Rhodes Public bus service serving the East Coast of Rhodes linking Gennadi, Kiotari, Lardos, Pefkos, Kalathos, Archangelos, Afandou, Faliraki and Rhodes Town
- Timetable
- Available here
Route Verification Details
- Date of Walk: 2018-10-07
- Walk Time: 09:30 to 13:00
- Walkers: Griffmonster, Kat
- Weather Conditions: Bright sunshine
Walk Notes
Ask any visitor to Pefkos or Lardos about the whereabouts of Lardos castle and they may well offer a blank silence or iterate a response that they had no idea that Lardos had a castle. Even some locals are ignorant of the fact that a castle is perched upon the hills just outside the village. It has to be admitted that had we not been walking the road into Lardos the previous year and noticed a group of people on the foothills of the Stafilia mountain then the Castle would not have been personally discovered. At the time it was plainly apparent that the people were standing atop some kind of ruined structure and this gave the impetus to research the identity of this structure and discover a method and means to reach it for surely there must be a path since there were folk exploring it. This resulted in this walk and this investigation into the Castle, its history and its builders.
It has to be admitted that since I first penned these words in 2018 there are a lot more reference to this castle on the various tourist websites. I certainly have no resentment that such information is becoming more widely available and do hope that Rhodes Great Walks website has inspired others to encourage visitors to explore Rhodes island beyond its coastal beaches.
There are a couple of routes that can be used to visit the castle. In this case we take a diversion from the country route between Pefkos and Lardos, which is always a pleasure to walk and has become a standard Sunday excursion when visiting Pefkos. Alternatively one can use a less lengthy circular route starting and ending in Lardos. Either way, the route makes use of well defined tracks that climb the hills to the Castle location. Ascents and descents are nothing major and the route should be suitable to most able bodied folk who are used to walking. The track navigates around the rear of the Castle ruins and access to the structure can be gained with a scramble up to the top of the mound that the castle sits upon. Care should be taken here as there is a pit which looks to be a sunken room close to the remaining wall. There is an arch at the rear of this pit which gives it the indication that it may once have been a chamber although little else can be seen due to the rubble that fills the confines. The ground around the ruins is rough and can be somewhat overgrown. A tree marks the western end of the castle plateau and from here there are clear views across the broad valley from the coast through to Lardos and beyond. The remaining standing wall is impressive and includes the remains of a square tower at its eastern end that is not immediately obvious. From the western side ones eyes are immediately drawn to the thickness of the wall which certainly makes one presume that this was once a substantial fortification. There are no information boards, no renovated artefacts, just the ruins crumbling into the landscape. But it is impressive and every bit worth the effort of making the expedition to the Castle.
Directions
This route follows the road from Pefkos to Lardos beach continuing along a country lane to meet up with the road to Lardos where the track around the castle mound can be found. An alternative route is a circular walk from Lardos which can be found on the ViewRanger app.
The route can either be walked from Pefkos which is described in Easy walk from Pefkos to Lardos or as a circular walk from Lardos, following the road out towards Kiotari. Either way one needs to navigate to the small Chapelof St Ionnis on the Kiotari road out of Lardos which is located about 75m from the junction with the modern main road. Proceed from the chapel towards Lardos for a some 30m where there is a track on the left down the side of a fenced off smallholding. Take this track which swiftly gains height. Follow the track as it turns to the right with another small ascent. The castle ruins are now directly in front extending out into the valley below.
The base of the castle is some 2-3m above the track but one can scramble up the side to gain access. The flat but rough base extends out some 60m out but beware of a pit on the eastern side and do not get close to the edge as there are steep high sides to the ground that supports the castle.
Return is simply continuing along the track as it descends down the hill past the northern side of the castle sides. At a junction with another track, turn right and keep following the main track until it emerges at the junction with the Lardos road and the road to the Panagia Ipseni monastery. Follow the road into Lardos.
Refreshments
Cafe Alexandra Bakery View in Google Map
- Address
- Cafe Alexandra Bakery
Small bakery and cafe on the main road opposite the turning to Lardos. Popular with locals
Great little cafe that is an ideal stopping point on this walk before heading up to the castle
Savvas Grill Restaurant View in Google Map
- Address
- Savvas Grill Restaurant
There is nothing better than finding a quiet typical Greek Taverna with Greek hosts and amazing food. This is an unassuming family run taverna on the junction of roads in Lardos, away from the square but still amid the hubbub of activity. The food is typical Greek cuisine and well worth every effort to seek out.
On this occasion a meze for two with a carafe of wine made a worthy lunchtime reward after the walk. Great place. Great location for watching everday life go by
Features
Lardos CastleView in Google Map
Other than a passing reference to Lardos Castle on tourist information websites and in Rhodes guidebooks there is scant information on the history of this fortification. On-line searches result in minimal discovery of academic documentation or archaeological studies from the area and even books discussing the history of Rhodes or the Byzantine Empire only make passing references to such a Castle. Therefore it is difficult to offer a fully detailed and well founded report about the Castle, its history or its builders. Nonetheless we shall endeavour to enlighten the reader with the bits of information thus far discovered.
Firstly we should understand the history of the period of time that the Castle is said to have been constructed in. Most websites claim that it was built by the Knights Hospitaller but that probably means very little to a lot of people other than some association with the Crusades. Other sites claim it was of Byzantine construction, so let us discovered exactly what and when and where the Byzantine era was about and how the Knights Hospitaller fit into the general picture.
In 395AD the Roman Empire divided into east and west regions with the east taking its capital to be the city of Byzantuium, the old name of Constantinople and whose whose modern name is Istanbul in Turkey. This eastern split marked the start of an era commonly known as the Byzantine Empire which was to last until the 14th century. Rhodes was part of this empire having previously been part of the Roman Empire. Rhodes, being an island and in a strategic position, had a long history of occupation and invasion and this continued into the Byzantine period with Islamic forces mounting repeated invasions from 600AD onwards with Byzantine armies recapturing the island only to have it fall back to the Eastern invaders. There was also occupation during the 13th century by the Genoese before the Nicene Empire took control, a so called rump state of the Byzantine Empire formed by the aristocracy of the latter. As the 14th century ushered in, it was the time that the Knights Hospitaller took a turn at invasion.
The Knights Hospitaller, sometimes known as the Knights of St John was a common name for The Order of Knights of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem. The order was formed in the 11th century and became a medieval military order based in the Kingdom of Jerusalem and charged with the defence of the Holy Lands. After the fall of Jerusalem in 1291 they retreated to Cyprus from where they formulated a plan to found their own domain, selecting the island of Rhodes as the candidate. In 1310, after a four year campaign, Rhodes surrendered to the Knights and they began a reign that would last for over 200 years after which they were overpowered by the army of Suleiman the Magnificent in 1522.
The Knights Hospitaller are renowned for the construction of many fortresses on Rhodes which assisted in their defence of the island from constant incursions by the Ottomans and the Sultan of Egypt. Castles, palaces and churches on the island have all been credited to being founded by the Knights with many examples still standing giving the island much of its character today. There is plenty of evidence that many of these constructions were built on former Byzantine or earlier edifices. A prime example is the Lindos Acropolis which was successively occupied and altered by the ancient Greeks, the Romans and the Byzantines prior to the Knights occupation. Evidence of such changes to the Acropolis and its occupations has been revealed by detailed archaeological investigations. It is also well substantiated that the defensive walls of Rhodes town fortifications were left unchanged from their Byzantine predecessors for the main part of the Knights occupation, and then only strengthening changes were applied.
The history and construction of Lardos Castle is a lot more difficult to determine than the fortresses of Rhodes and Lindos since there are few references to specific archaeological documentation despite some websites insinuating that such investigations have taken place over recent decades. The castle is located 1km from the modern village of Lardos and sits on top of a steep sided rocky outcrop on the lower reaches of the Stafilia mountain overlooking the valley across to the Marmari mountains, an ideal position to guard against invasion up the valley. Only one wall remains, some 44m in length with the crumbling remains of a square tower at its eastern end. If this was the extent of the castle then it would occupy an area of some 500m² although the flat area of the castle extends outwards to double this area. Below the surviving wall is a partially filled chamber with an arch at the rear which appears to be blanked off. This may have been an underground room although a local person related that it was a burial chamber. As there is no definitive source for either idea its purpose is uncertain.
The castle is commonly associated with the Knights Hospitaller but it is uncertain whether this is an original construction or based on a previous fortification. Undoubtedly it was built to withstand attack as can be seen by the substantial width of the main remaining stone wall.
Many publications make use of a reference from an old 19th century book titled Rhodes in Modern Times
by W Heyd to substantiate the existence of the castle prior to the arrival of the Knights. This book makes a simple statement that
In 1306 the Genoese Vignolo de Vignoli apparently claimed that the emperor granted him... the casale or manor of Lardos on Rhodes
This is one of the few historic references to the Castle from an historic source. Vignolo de Vignoli was a Genoese adventurer who had offered his fleet to the Knights during their conquest of the island. The Knights repayed him with property and inheritance rights once the battle was won. The word casale
is derived from Latin origin and has a meaning of a villa, a country mansion or manor rather than a castle but in this context it would appear that he was gifted the whole manor of Lardos which presumably included the Castle. There appears to be little other reference to the Castle from either this or earlier periods and some have suggested that the castle was no more than an observation post for the road from Gennadi. To add evidence of this idea, the Castle bears no mention in the list of the islands castles during the end of the Knights occupation in 1474. During this time period, in the event of a Turkish invasion the residents of Lardos were requested to find refuge in Lindos rather than their own Castle.
The fact that the walls of this construction are so substantial would seem to indicate it was at one time a defensive structure. This may offer support to the castle existing prior to the occupation of the Knights. Some tourist websites do indicate that it is of Byzantine construction from the 12th century but offer no reference as to where this information has been garnered. Similarly they also imply that archaeological studies of the area have revealed further historic buildings in the area from the same time period. Without academic documentation or archaeological reports to back this up we cannot conclusively take this for granted and it would appear that there is virtually no documentation from prior to the Knights occupation. It may be speculated that the Castle was a Byzantine construction that was dis-guarded by the Knights after their conquest, having awarded the whole manor to Vignolo de Vignoli. However this is pure guesswork and should not be taken as anything more.
In conclusion we cannot give any definitive account of the Castle or its history due to the lack of documented historic information. The site is not generally advertised and is certainly not a place that is on most tourist schedules. Due to its remote location, few tourists even know of its existence let alone venture out to it. It is nonetheless well worth seeking out to soak up the atmosphere and view the scale of the ruins. If any further information comes to light then it will most certainly be posted here.
References
- Archaeology on Rhodes and the Knights of St. John of Jerusalem, Anna-Maria Kasdagli
- History of the Crusades, Kenneth Meyer Setton
- Odysseus website article for Lardos Castle
- The Order of St John from the origins to 1306 translated from French, Nicolas Vatin
- The Hospitallers at Rhodes, 1306-1421
- Greek Castles website
Summary of Document Changes
Last Updated: 2021-12-07
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