VEDA WELLNESS

CASTLE OF MONEMVASIA

Laconia, Greece

Offered exclusively at our Greece Retreat

Monemvasia is the name of the rock that stands close to the Eastern coast of Laconia and is connected with land with a bridge. The settlement was established by the Lacedaemons in the 6th century B.C. Another settlement was established at a lower point and progressively the city developed and acquired a great strategic importance. After a short papal domination it came under the Venetian sovereignty in 1464. In 1540 the first Ottoman domination period started and the decline that had already begun continued more intensely.

In 1690 the city came under the Venetians’ power. In 1715 the Turks reoccupied it. In 1821 it was the first among the fortified cities of the Peloponnese to be liberated. Its most significant monuments are: The settlement of Monemvasia, The settlement of the Lower City, the church of Christ Helkomenos, the Muslim Mosque, the Temple of Panagia Myrtidiotissa, the Temple of Saint Nicolas, and the Temple of Panagia Chryssaphitissa.