Description of the attraction
The castle of St. Hilarion is one of the fortresses located in the mountains not far from the city of Kyrenia. As often happened, this castle was originally a monastery, which was named after its founder - the Egyptian monk Hilarion the Great, who set up his skete on this place in 370. Later, a church and a monastery were built there, but soon, around the 11th century, the monastery was rebuilt by the Byzantines and turned into a fortress, which, together with the castles of Kantara and Buffavento, formed a line of defense against Arab raids from the coast. Later, in the XII century, this territory was captured by the Lusignan dynasty, which also took up the rebuilding and strengthening of the castle. After that, the fortress became practically impregnable. According to historical sources, the enemy managed to capture it only a few times, and then only when the garrison ran out of food supplies, and he voluntarily laid down his arms. But when in the 15th century the castle of St. Hilarion passed into the hands of the Venetians, in order to reduce the cost of its maintenance, they dismantled part of the fortress. In addition, the structure was severely damaged during the Turkish-Greek confrontation on the island in the 1960s.
The castle of St. Hilarion was divided into three sectors: in its lower part there were barracks for the guardsmen, stables and utility rooms, the middle premises were occupied by the church of St. Christopher, built in the X century, and at the very top were the apartments of the members of the royal family.
Fortunately, the castle is fairly well preserved and today it is one of the best examples of fortifications in Cyprus from the Middle Ages. To get to it, you need to overcome a steep climb, but climbing to the very top, you can enjoy a wonderful view of Kyrenia and the Mediterranean Sea.
