Kyrenia Castle (Greek: Κάστρο της Κερύνειας Turkish: Girne Kalesi), at the east end of the old harbour in Kyrenia is a 16th-century castle built by the Venetians over a previous Crusader fortification. Within its walls lies a twelfth-century chapel showing reused late Roman capitals, and the Shipwreck Museum.
The castle was subjected to several sieges. A Genoese attack in 1373 almost destroyed the castle, and the longest amongst the sieges, in the 15th century, lasted nearly four years and reduced the unfortunate occupants to eating mice and rats. By 1489 the Venetians had taken control of Cyprus and in 1540 they enlarged the castle, giving it its present-day appearance. The chief changes, such as the addition of thick walls and embrasures for cannons, were adaptations to changes in warfare in the form of gunpowder artillery. The Venetians also installed gun ports at three levels so that they could direct cannon fire against attackers from the land. Inside the castle, they built huge long ramps so as to be able to drag artillery up on the walls. When the work on the castle was finished, its walls also encompassed the small church of St. George, which the Byzantines may have built in the 11th or 12th century.
Kyrenia Castle’s courtyard
In 1570, Kyrenia surrendered to the Ottomans. The Ottomans too made changes to the castle, but the British removed these during their occupation. The castle contains the tomb of the Ottoman Admiral Sadik Pasha. The British used the castle as a police barracks and training school. They also used the castle as a prison for members of the Greek Cypriot EOKA organization.
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