Myrina Castle
The Castle
The city’s castle covers an area of 144 acres. An early version was built in the early 12th century, and its fortifications were reinforced in 1185 by Emperor Andronikos I Komnenos. For its construction, whatever material remained from the city’s classical acropolis was used, causing the latter to disappear.
It acquired its present form during the Venetian occupation under Filocalo Navigajozzi (1207–14) and his son Leonardo (1214–60). It was subsequently repaired and expanded many times: in 1361 by John V Palaiologos, in 1477 by the Venetian governor Francesco Paschali, and in the late 16th century by the Ottomans.
Throughout history, it was the strongest fortress on Lemnos, which is why the city was called Kastro from the late Byzantine period until the mid-20th century. It has a triple wall with a total of 14 towers, up to 8 m high and 1.5 m thick, which was protected by a deep moat on the eastern side, now gone. In 1780, following repairs by Hasan Pasha Jezaerli, it was equipped with 150 cannons. It has a central gate to the east, accessed by an uphill cobblestone path, and a smaller one to the north, near the coast. At the time Vincenzo Coronelli visited it (1690–95), the following place names were heard within the castle: Saint Mark, Saint Rocco, Saint Mary—obviously remnants of chapels from the Venetian period—and Mavrochori, which was the garrison’s quarter and was located down toward the sea near the secondary gate. In 1770, the same area and the gate were called Mavrochati.
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