Historical Builder › Castles › Kyrenia Castle
How Long Did It Take to Build Kyrenia Castle?
Short answer: about 3 years, from 1208 to 1211.
In 1460 a queen sailed out of her besieged castle to fetch help, and sailed back in.
What the sources say about the building period
First castle Byzantine (7th century); large parts built by John of Ibelin 1208–1211; Venetian reconstruction 1540–1544. Camiz et al., Sapienza University of Rome Academic source
Stone and crew in numbers
- Country and type
- Cyprus, castle
- Stone in the walls
- 8,000 to 18,000 m³ Estimate
- For comparison
- about 5 Olympic pools of stone, or 1,300 truckloads
- Average crew
- about 518 workers (model value: the crew that would need exactly this long, working without a break)
Volume basis: not yet checked. Measurements not yet checked. Our estimates come from published dimensions and are shown as a range. The result is a simple model, not a measured fact.
Where the stone came from
Not yet researched.
Legend: tradition, not evidence
A queen sailed out of a besieged castle to find help, and sailed back in.
What we know: It is documented, not a legend. In 1460 Queen Charlotte of Cyprus took refuge in Kyrenia against her half-brother James, who was backed by the Mamluks. During the siege she sailed to Rhodes to win help from the Hospitallers and returned.
Medievalists.net: Charlotte de Lusignan, a fighting queen Documented, not a legend
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