The castles and towns

From Crac des Chevaliers to Malta

What the people who look after or describe each place say.

Jump to: Crac des Chevaliers | Fortress of Saladin | Acre | Rhodes | Kolossi | Karak | Malta | Byblos and Caesarea | In England

Crac des Chevaliers, Syria

The Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem built Crac des Chevaliers between 1142 and 1271. UNESCO World Heritage Centre: Crac des Chevaliers and Qal’at Salah El-Din UNESCO says Crac ranks among the best-preserved Crusader castles. UNESCO World Heritage Centre: Crac des Chevaliers and Qal’at Salah El-Din

Crac des Chevaliers means Crac of the Knights. The name Crac may come from the Castle of the Kurds, through Crat in Latin sources. ICOMOS evaluation for UNESCO: Crac des Chevaliers and Qal’at Salah El-Din (2006) Today the castle is known as Qal’at al-Hosn. ICOMOS evaluation for UNESCO: Crac des Chevaliers and Qal’at Salah El-Din (2006)

ICOMOS dates the first building phase to 1142 to 1190, the second to 1190 to 1200 and the third to 1200 to 1271. ICOMOS evaluation for UNESCO: Crac des Chevaliers and Qal’at Salah El-Din (2006)

ICOMOS says the Mamluks also built new structures such as “the massive square tower on the south side (Qalawun, in 1285)”. ICOMOS evaluation for UNESCO: Crac des Chevaliers and Qal’at Salah El-Din (2006)

Crac slowly lost its military role from the 14th century; the military base left in the 19th century and villagers lived there. ICOMOS evaluation for UNESCO: Crac des Chevaliers and Qal’at Salah El-Din (2006)

Crac des Chevaliers is in the municipality of Al Hosn, in Homs Governorate, Syria. ICOMOS evaluation for UNESCO: Crac des Chevaliers and Qal’at Salah El-Din (2006) The World Heritage property covers 8.87 hectares. UNESCO World Heritage Centre: Crac des Chevaliers and Qal’at Salah El-Din

Crac des Chevaliers and Qal’at Salah El-Din were inscribed as a World Heritage site in 2006. UNESCO World Heritage Centre: Crac des Chevaliers and Qal’at Salah El-Din UNESCO lists Crac des Chevaliers and Qal’at Salah El-Din on the List of World Heritage in Danger: “2013 - Present”. UNESCO World Heritage Centre: Crac des Chevaliers and Qal’at Salah El-Din

We give no travel advice for Crac des Chevaliers or the Fortress of Saladin, only what UNESCO says.

Fortress of Saladin (Qal’at Salah El-Din), Syria

The fortress, once called Sahyun or Château de Saône, was renamed Fortress of Saladin in 1957, to honour the sultan who took it in 1188. ICOMOS evaluation for UNESCO: Crac des Chevaliers and Qal’at Salah El-Din (2006) Qal’at Salah El-Din has Byzantine beginnings in the 10th century, Frankish changes in the late 12th century, and Ayyubid fortifications from the late 12th to mid-13th century. UNESCO World Heritage Centre: Crac des Chevaliers and Qal’at Salah El-Din

It sits on a rocky spur at 440 metres, so steep that it can only really be reached from the east. ICOMOS evaluation for UNESCO: Crac des Chevaliers and Qal’at Salah El-Din (2006) Its plan is a narrow triangle pointing west, 720 metres long and 120 metres wide at the base. ICOMOS evaluation for UNESCO: Crac des Chevaliers and Qal’at Salah El-Din (2006)

It is partly in ruins and is now an archaeological site. UNESCO World Heritage Centre: Crac des Chevaliers and Qal’at Salah El-Din Two Byzantine chapels survive at the fortress. ICOMOS evaluation for UNESCO: Crac des Chevaliers and Qal’at Salah El-Din (2006)

Because it was isolated, the fortress was left unused for centuries. ICOMOS evaluation for UNESCO: Crac des Chevaliers and Qal’at Salah El-Din (2006) The main gate of the Ayyubid palace was restored in 1936, copying the original; that kind of restoration has since stopped. UNESCO World Heritage Centre: Crac des Chevaliers and Qal’at Salah El-Din

The castles’ names have changed over time: see when sources disagree.

Acre, Israel

UNESCO says Acre was the capital of the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem from 1104 to 1291. UNESCO World Heritage Centre: Old City of Acre Acre was the Crusaders’ main port in the Holy Land. UNESCO World Heritage Centre: Old City of Acre

Genoese, Venetian and Pisan merchants built their own quarters near the port. ICOMOS evaluation for UNESCO: Old City of Acre (2001) The Hospitallers settled in the north of the city and the Templars in the south-west. ICOMOS evaluation for UNESCO: Old City of Acre (2001)

The Crusader city survives almost intact beneath the Ottoman city, and excavation has been revealing it. UNESCO World Heritage Centre: Old City of Acre When the city was rebuilt in the 18th century, the Crusader buildings were used as foundations, keeping the Crusader street plan. ICOMOS evaluation for UNESCO: Old City of Acre (2001)

The citadel was built over the Hospitallers’ citadel, which includes the Knights’ Halls, the Crypt and the “Beautiful Hall”. ICOMOS evaluation for UNESCO: Old City of Acre (2001)

After a long decline, Acre was still the main entry port for Christian pilgrims visiting Jerusalem. UNESCO World Heritage Centre: Old City of Acre

Rhodes, Greece

The Knights of St John held Rhodes from 1309 to 1523. UNESCO World Heritage Centre: Medieval City of Rhodes The medieval city sits inside a wall 4 kilometres long. UNESCO World Heritage Centre: Medieval City of Rhodes

The Order was organised into seven “tongues”, each with its own inn. UNESCO World Heritage Centre: Medieval City of Rhodes The inns of Italy, France, Spain and Provence lined the famous Street of the Knights. UNESCO World Heritage Centre: Medieval City of Rhodes

The Great Hospital was built between 1440 and 1489. UNESCO World Heritage Centre: Medieval City of Rhodes

At the Amboise Gate, built in 1512, the wall was 12 metres thick, with a 4-metre parapet pierced with gun holes. UNESCO World Heritage Centre: Medieval City of Rhodes

Its port was once home to the Colossus, one of the Seven Wonders of the ancient world. UNESCO World Heritage Centre: Medieval City of Rhodes The fortifications of Rhodes influenced the whole eastern Mediterranean at the end of the Middle Ages. UNESCO World Heritage Centre: Medieval City of Rhodes

Kolossi Castle, Cyprus

Kolossi castle was first built in the 13th century and rebuilt in its present form in the 15th century. Deputy Ministry of Tourism, Cyprus: Kolossi Medieval Castle

The Knights made and exported a sweet wine, the “vin de Commanderie”; Commandaria wine has kept the name for eight centuries. Deputy Ministry of Tourism, Cyprus: Kolossi Medieval Castle Next to the castle are the ruins of a 14th-century sugar mill. Deputy Ministry of Tourism, Cyprus: Kolossi Medieval Castle

The Cyprus tourism ministry puts Kolossi 14 km west of Lemesos (Limassol), on the road towards Pafos. Deputy Ministry of Tourism, Cyprus: Kolossi Medieval Castle

Karak Castle, Jordan

Karak, an old Crusader stronghold, stands 900 metres above sea level. Jordan Tourism Board: Karak The Jordan Tourism Board calls Karak Castle a dark maze of stone-vaulted halls and endless passages. Jordan Tourism Board: Karak

The best-preserved parts are underground. Jordan Tourism Board: Karak Its main hall is a vault that housed soldiers in the Mamluk period. Jordan Tourism Board: Karak

On clear days, you can see across the Dead Sea to the Mount of Olives by Jerusalem. Jordan Tourism Board: Karak

The Karak Archaeological Museum opened inside the castle in 1980. Jordan Tourism Board: Karak

Fort St Angelo and Valletta, Malta

By 1274 the stronghold, then called Castrum Maris, “castle-by-the-sea”, had two enclosures. Heritage Malta: Fort St Angelo After 1530, the Order of St John named the old castle Fort St Angelo and made it their headquarters. Heritage Malta: Fort St Angelo

Fort St Angelo had a major role in the Great Siege of 1565. Heritage Malta: Fort St Angelo In 1689 the engineer Carlos Grunenbergh added four gun platforms for some fifty guns. Heritage Malta: Fort St Angelo

The fort later became a Royal Navy shore base, named HMS St Angelo in 1933. Heritage Malta: Fort St Angelo In the Second World War, Fort St Angelo took 69 direct hits. Heritage Malta: Fort St Angelo The last foreign forces marched out of the fort in March 1979. Heritage Malta: Fort St Angelo

Valletta was founded in 1566, soon after the Siege of Malta in 1565. UNESCO World Heritage Centre: City of Valletta The Knights of St John planned Valletta as one whole design, with a grid of streets inside bastioned walls. UNESCO World Heritage Centre: City of Valletta

Valletta has a compact group of 320 monuments. UNESCO World Heritage Centre: City of Valletta They include St John’s cathedral, the Grand Master’s Palace and auberges, the inns of the Order’s tongues. UNESCO World Heritage Centre: City of Valletta

Byblos, Lebanon, and Caesarea, Israel

UNESCO lists a Crusade citadel among the layers of Byblos. UNESCO World Heritage Centre: Byblos The old walled town of Byblos has everything a medieval town had: a wall, cathedral, castle and donjon. UNESCO World Heritage Centre: Byblos

People have lived at Byblos for 8,000 years, starting with fishermen. UNESCO World Heritage Centre: Byblos

The Israel Nature and Parks Authority lists Crusader fortifications among the remains at Caesarea. Israel Nature and Parks Authority: Caesarea National Park Caesarea was named in honour of Augustus Caesar. Israel Nature and Parks Authority: Caesarea National Park

In England

The Temple Church in London was built by the Knights Templar. The Temple Church: History It was designed to recall the round Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem. The Temple Church: History

The Round Church may be the earliest Gothic building in England. The Temple Church: The 12th Century, 1119 to 1187 In the Middle Ages the walls had bright painted lozenges and banners hung from the columns. The Temple Church: The 12th Century, 1119 to 1187

William Marshal the Younger was buried next to his father in the Round Church in 1231, where his effigy still lies. The Temple Church: To the End of the Templars, 1231 to 1312

Henry II gave the manor of Strood to the Knights Templar in 1159. English Heritage: History of Temple Manor Probably no more than two knights lived at Temple Manor all the time. English Heritage: History of Temple Manor

The main doorway has Purbeck marble shafts on each side. English Heritage: History of Temple Manor The flint walls were once plastered and painted to look like smooth stone. English Heritage: History of Temple Manor

Traces of wall paintings survive in the first-floor hall. English Heritage: Temple Manor

The Museum of the Order of St John is at St John’s Gate, Clerkenwell, London. Museum of the Order of St John: home page Across St John’s Square from the Gate is the Priory Church, with its 12th-century crypt. Museum of the Order of St John: History of the Order

The museum’s collections include rare armour and a bronze cannon given by Henry VIII. Museum of the Order of St John: History of the Order

Some of these places are dated or described differently by different sources. More on when sources disagree.

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