Archangelos Castle and Church ~ Griffmonsters Great Rhodes Walks

Archangelos Castle and Church

Simple wander around the village of Archangelos

A simple and easy wander around the village of Archangelos taking in a visit to its Castle and church, both impressive structures.

Archangelos Castle and Church - Essential Information

Walk Statistics (calculated from GPX):

Start location: Archangelos
Distance: km ( miles)
Total Gain: metre ( ft)
Total Descent: metre ( ft)
Min Height: metre ( ft)
Max Height: metre ( ft)
Walk Time:
Walk Grade: Easy
Terrain: road

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

Route Verification Details

Date of Walk: 08/10/2022
Walk Time: 09:30:00 to 12:00:00
Walkers: Griff, Kat
Weather Conditions: Very warm day, blue skies and plenty of sunshine

Walk Notes

The village of Archangelos is located on the main East coast highway on Rhodes, some 30km from Rhodes town and 20km from Pefkos village. It is the second largest village on the island and is a bustling hive of activity with its main thoroughfare full of shops and local people going about their business. At under 6000 population it is by no means a large place yet it boasts the ruins of a castle and a magnificent church that has to be seen to really appreciate its elegance.

Wander away from the main street and you will find a maze of narrow lanes between whitewashed houses that lures the inquisitive visitor to explore. The village has its own unique character and customs and even the local spoken word is said to be a distinctive idiom of the common Greek tongue.

The distance to the castle and church is not great, in fact this is one of the shortest walks undertaken by Griffmonsters Walks on the island and should be easy for any able bodied person. Despite the limited distance compared to the usual Griffmonster Walks, this wander is a rewarding exploration of the village, and can be tagged onto other hikes out of Archangelos.

Navigating to the church is easy as its distinctive bell tower can be seen from the streets leading off of the main street, you just need to head towards it. The castle needs a little more patience to work a route through the maze of streets, basically heading towards the church and then beyond. Direction signs point to the Acropolis rather than the castle but more about that later. The easy way is to download the GPX from this page and import this to your favourite mobile navigation app, this will provide a simple circular route.

The Archangel Michael, after which the town is named

On this occasion we arrived on the bus from Pefkos and alighted at the principle bus stop named Archangelos School (ΑΡΧΑΓΓΕΛΟΣ ΣΧΟΛΕΙΟ) located on the northern side of the village. There is a small paved square opposite the bus stop where three sculptured busts sit atop plinths, plus a monument with an embossed sculpture of a figure wielding a sword above his head, presumably the Archangel Michael from whom the towns name is derived. The plinths have Greek inscriptions upon them, although they are worn and barely legible in places. Two are dedicated to Archangelos born statesmen, one for Dimitris Kremastinos, a physician, university professor and politician, and another honouring George Lambrianos, a politician. The inscription on the third bust is rather undecipherable due to wear and missing characters but appears to be a local man in honour of his action in WWII which ended with his execution by the invading forces, although this is a little guesswork from the character fragments that are still in place upon the inscriptions. His first name appears to be Stefanos although his second name is illegible, but would appear to have three missing characters to make up ??pon?as. The inscription continues, with the phrase ΕΚΤΕΛΕΣΤΗΚΕ ΑΠΟ Σ ΓΕΡΜΑΝΟΥΣ 5.4.1945 which would translate as executed by Germans on the 5th of April 1945. Despite much searching I have thus far failed to determine who this man was.

Leaving the square we head towards the castle which forms a backdrop to the village, high on the hill. We take the Stegna road then veer off right to navigate through the houses. The castle ruins are no more than an empty shell which includes a small Chapel. The ruins are sometimes referred to as the castle of Saint John presumably because it is said to have been constructed by the Knights of St John after the fall of Constantinople in 1453 by the Ottoman Army. The knights had occupied the island of Rhodes since the early 1300s and this construction was presumably strengthening their defence of the island against Ottoman attacks. This seems to have been a wise move as such invasions occurred in both 1457 and again in 1503 after which further strengthening occurred. During this period the building work was overseen by Grand Master Zacosta, a Spanish knight of Aragon who served as the 38th Grand Master of the Order of the Knights Hospitaller from 1461 until 1467, the 39th Grand Master Orsini, an Italian knight who served from 1467 to 1476, and the 40th Grand Master d’Aubusson, a French knight who served from 1476 until his death in 1503. The emblems of each of these Grand Master are said to be seen on the castle walls yet we could not find these.

It is by no means conclusive that the knights constructed the castle from scratch, and like many other ancient defences found upon the island, they may have made use of existing fortifications as the basis for their own defences.

Many local folk refer to the castle as the Acropolis and signposts also point to the Acropolis rather than the castle. The word Acropolis is defined as a citadel or fortified part of an ancient Greek city, typically one built on a hill so there may well be folklore that an Acropolis predated the Castle. There are even suggestions that there may have originally been a Mycenaean fortification but from all accounts there is little archaeological evidence to support such a proposition.

The walls of the castle are thin in comparison to other Rhodian castles, constructed from quarry stone and brick that form a basic rectangular enclosure some 100m in length and 25m wide, set on a South-South-East axis. The far end points towards the coast at Agia Triada Beach some 3km away. This is nothing more than a secluded beach inaccessible to transport other than off road vehicles. Whether there is any significance to this is unknown and its axis and geometry may just have been determined by the elongated hill that is sits upon.

Small turrets that form a barbican at the entrace to the castle

The other notable aspect of the castle is the lack of towers which normally provide additional visual coverage of the surrounding area and a vantage point for defence. There isn't any visual evidence to suggest that any towers have just fallen to rubble so the assumption is that none existed. There is a small turret at the entrance and this would have formed a barbican to provide defence against intrusion from the landward side.

Behind the entrance are foundations and walls which are said to be medieval or earlier which would suggest that this predated the Knights of St John. Opposite this on the north eastern corner of the ruins is a small vaulted chapel that is still a functional building. Inside are well preserved frescoes said to date from the 14th century although the vibrancy of colours suggests they may have been repainted in later years.

One thing that is noticeable by all newcomers to the castle are the Greek characters ΟΧΙ daubed in large letters on the exterior of the wall overlooking the village. This is Greek for 'No'! and is graffiti dating from the 1970s exclaiming opposition against the then military dictatorship.

We now move on, retracing steps down from the castle and then continuing down into the village, aiming directly for the prominent bell tower that signifies the church's position. The building, constructed in 1845, is some 25m long by 12m width and sits within a courtyard full of pebbled mosaics. The separated bell tower, commonly known as a campanile, is located on the north west corner of the courtyard. It cannot fail to impress with its finely carved and decorated balconies that reach to the heavens. A cross crowns the top of the structure and a clock is placed on each of the faces of the fourth storey. This remarkable edifice is often compared to a wedding cake, with its white stone walls resembling the icing.

After spending time admiring the tower one has to step into the main building and this is equally impressive. Marble columns with sculptured tops support arches both parallel and perpendicular to the length of the church. Ornate chandeliers hang impressively from the ceiling and the walls are covered in large frescos. The aisle is pebbled in a zig-zag pattern for the whole length of the building up to the iconostasis. One can only stand and gaze in wonderment at all of this rich design. Words can be no substitute for describing this, and I would highly recommend a visit to this church.

And so ends the small tour of the village. Hopefully the images on this page will entice others to seek out these historic features.

Exterior of the church, with the courtyard full of pebble mosaics

An addendum to this visit. It just so happened that as we wandered out of the village on the start to our next expedition we unexpectedly stumbled upon a new brewery. Located on the corner of Stadium Road (Σταδιου), the road that passes the football stadium, and Highway 95, this small brewery with a full glass frontage to present views of the brewing equipment seemed something to investigate. The owner was by the roadside assembling signage and soon a conversation was struck up to reveal the details of this fledgling business. He proudly told us that this was a new microbrewery to be known as the Mule's Brew Brewery and was due to open that very week (October 2022). (Note that at the time this was to be called the Donkeys Brew but this conflicted with another brewery so the name was subsequently changed.) A total of six brews were on the card, including House Ale, Pilsner, Weiss, red IPA, Lager and Stout. Something for everyone, and no doubt a lot tastier than the large commercial brews that are owned by the multinational corporate brewers, the likes of which proliferate the bars and tavernas of the resorts on the island.

With a tap room next to the actual brewing facility this is certainly a place to seek out for any beer connoisseurs. Unfortunately on this specific day it was yet to open. However this is definitely something that will be on our agenda for a future visit to the village. Watch this space!