Monemvasia, Greece: The "Single Entrance" Greek Town

166 Shares

Monemvasia is a wonderful medieval castle city located in the southeast of Peloponnese, in the Laconia Prefecture. The fortress is on a small peninsula with a huge rock that is 300 m/984 ft tall and 1.8 km/1.1 miles long. The Castle and the Old Town are built on the slopes of this huge rock that stands in the serene velvet-blue Mirtoon Sea.

Monemvasia means “single entrance” and this name suits the town which is separated from the adjacent town by a narrow bridge.

It was separated from the mainland by a 375 AD earthquake. The interesting town has a charming image of narrow pebbled streets and little stone houses.

Monemvasia is divided into a lower and upper town. The lower town at sea level has the ruins of houses and many churches, and has been tastefully restored.

The View of Monemvasia

The upper town or citadel is protected by castle walls and there you can see the ruins of Byzantine houses, towers, walls, guardhouses and large water cisterns.

Monevasia has a typical Mediterranean climate with warm and hot summers, and mild winters.

The stone houses of Monemvasia, Greece

This port city has overcome the urge to lose its culture and tradition to be taken over by modernization, and the nature and history of this place have been a great attraction to its visitors.

A Little Bit of History

This area was first settled in the 6th century, by the Sparta residents who fled from the clutches of the barbarians.

These people built homes and churches along spiraling lanes, on the rock, and built walls around the city and around the fortress.

They used a wooden bridge or waded through shallow waters to cross over to the mainland.

Monemvasia became an important city in the Peloponnesus and ships sailing from Constantinople to Italy stopped here to give rest to the high-ranking church members and aristocrats.

Before the town became a part of Greece, it changed between the Byzantine, Vatican, Ottoman, Frank and Venetian hands. Although it declined under the Turks, the Venetians revived it during their reign.