City Walls of Rhodes

Rhodes, Greece

The fortifications of the town of Rhodes are shaped like a defensive crescent around the medieval town and consist mostly in a modern fortification composed of a huge wall made of an embankment encased in stone, equipped with scarp, bastions, moat, counterscarp and glacis. The portion of fortifications facing the harbour is instead composed of a crenellated wall. On the moles towers and defensive forts are found.

They were built by the Knights Hospitaller of Saint John by enhancing the existing Byzantine walls starting from 1309, the year in which they took possession of the island after a three-year struggle.

Like most of the defensive walls they were built with a technique called rubble masonry which allows for a great mass capable of withstanding the gunshots with smooth external stone faces to avoid climbing.

In 1440 the Mameluke sultan of Egypt tried without success to conquer the town sieging it for 40 days. In 1480 Rhodes was besieged by the troops of Mehmed II but the powerful army of the conqueror manned with 100,000 troops and 170 ships was repelled by the courage of the Knights and the strong fortifications, notwithstanding the outnumbering assailants. In 1481 a destructive earthquake struck the island causing severe damages to the houses and the fortification and about 30,000 casualties. A new Ottoman siege could not be withstood, so the Knights made available their great financial resources and in a very short time the most important palaces of the town and the fortifications were rebuilt.

The Bastion of Italy (or Post of Italy) in which the Ottomans had opened a breach in 1480 was rebuilt with a powerful chemin de ronde for the reverse fire of cannons on the nearby spans of wall. This bastion was named 'Bastion Del Carretto' after the Grand Master. The gate of Saint John was closed and a pentagonal bastion with the same name was built on the western side of the walls to guard Gate d'Amboise. After The Ottoman conquered Rhodes in 1522 they did not demolish the walls but repaired them and kept them under maintenance during the four centuries of their rule.

The fortifications of Rhodes were frozen at 1522 so that Rhodes is one of the few European walled towns that still shows the transition between the classical medieval fortification and the modern ones. The fortifications that still today make a belt around the medieval town, so that it is a separate neighbour from the new town, were restored during the Italian administration of the island. There are 11 gates to access the old city. Some of them are ancient, some are modern.

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Address

Komninon 2, Rhodes, Greece
See all sites in Rhodes

Details

Founded: 1309
Category: Castles and fortifications in Greece

More Information

en.wikipedia.org

Rating

4.7/5 (based on Google user reviews)

User Reviews

Catalin Hulea (18 months ago)
The ruins of the fortress are impressive; the citadel is so immense that someone who wants to explore all its corners needs a few days just for this activity. I recommend a walk through the moat of the fortress, the greatness of the defensive walls is overwhelming. The reason behind my decision to give only four star is that some areas of the fortress are not cleaned (e.g. the so-called "terre plein"); in addition to this, to the great disappointment of the tourists, some of the tunnels and underground passages that connect the bastions are used as a garbage dump. Anyway, visiting the fortress is an experience you should not miss if you are in Rhodes. Bonus: if you love cats, you will be happy to meet the several hundred tamed felines that populate the city.
Johannes Lüdke (19 months ago)
A good and beautiful walk can be made there. Ideal mix of fortress and a bit of greenery. Sensational for a morning walk
Dennis F. (2 years ago)
Very nice path for hiking right on the city walls of Rhodes. Very well preserved and restored. During a tour along the city walls, it becomes clear with what effort the knights protected themselves against the Turkish enemy. The total length of the wall is about 5 km. For two centuries, the knights worked to strengthen this wall, for defense. In places the city wall is more than 12m wide. When the Hospitallers conquered Rhodes in 1309, they made only minor changes to the existing Byzantine fortress walls. But after the great Turkish attack in 1480 could only be averted with great difficulty, and the following year an earthquake severely damaged the city wall and some apartments, Grand Master Pierre d'Aubusson had them almost completely renovated. To do this, he had the best fortress builders come to the island. These first strengthened the ring of walls. After that, the inner wall was up to 20 m high above the moat, with a thickness of up to 12 m. The whole was crowned by a 4 m wide parapet. Between the battlements there was enough space to position the cannons. In the moat, which was 25 m wide, there were small fortress islands that offered additional protection. In June 1522, the Turks sailed in with 400-700 ships containing (here estimates and records vary widely) 100,000-200,000 warriors to conquer the island. Only 500 knights, 1500 mercenaries and the poorly educated population opposed this.
Annette Muschka (2 years ago)
Very worth seeing. Tickets available at the Grand Master's Palace. 1 KM walkable, about 45 minutes.
Mary Chatzistefanou (3 years ago)
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