Saint George Castle, Cephalonia: Memory of a medieval town

The original fortification was built by the Byzantines and was mostly limited to the top of a 320m high hill, where a chapel dedicated to Saint George (after whom the castle was named) had already been standing for a long time. The Western rulers who dominated the island for approximately three centuries (1185 – 1485) further fortified the Byzantine stronghold and used it as an administrative and military center.

After a brief occupation by the Ottomans, who had seized Cephalonia in 1485, the Christian forces of the Venetians and the Spaniards took back the island and recaptured the castle in 1500. The three-month siege caused considerable damage, imposing the castle’s reconstruction, which began in 1504 and was completed in 1594. The Venetians improved the fortification, reinforcing the walls with three bastions that  extended over 600m, enclosing an area of 16 stremmata, where a prosperous settlement developed, with noblemen’s residences and administrative buildings, Orthodox and Catholic churches, food and ammunition warehouses, barracks, schools, hospitals, prisons and cisterns.

The settlement was gradually extended outside the walls to Exoburgo. However, when the Venetians transferred the administration headquarters to Argostoli in 1757, the castle was abandoned. Despite the relentless passing of time and intense seismic activity, the castle has stood firm and is now one of the most charming sights of Cephalonia. The Annunciation church, a typical example of Ionian Baroque, stands out, surviving in excellent condition and housing significant Post-Byzantine icons from the other ruined churches of the castle.