Mystras Castle, Sparta Peloponnese: top attractions | best of Greece, the land of myths
Mystras or Mistras is a fortified town in Laconia, Peloponnese, Greece. Situated on Mt. Taygetos, near ancient Sparta, it served as the capital of the Byzantine Despotate of the Morea in the 14th and 15th centuries, experiencing a period of prosperity and cultural flowering. The site remained inhabited throughout the Ottoman period, when it was mistaken by Western travellers for ancient Sparta. In the 1830s, it was abandoned and the new town of Sparti was built, approximately eight kilometres to the east.
The last Byzantine emperor, Constantine XI Palaiologos, was despot at Mystras before he came to the throne. Demetrius Palaeologus the last despot of Morea, surrendered the city to the Ottoman emperor Mehmed II in 1460. It was abandoned under King Otto for the newly rebuilt town of Sparta. In 1989 the ruins, including the fortress, palace, churches, and monasteries, were named a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Mystras, the 'wonder of the Morea', was built as an amphitheatre around the fortress erected in 1249 by the prince of Achaia, William of Villehardouin. Reconquered by the Byzantines, then occupied by the Turks and the Venetians, the city was abandoned in 1832, leaving only the breathtaking medieval ruins, standing in a beautiful landscape.
Outstanding Universal Value
Mystras, the ‘wonder of the Morea’, lies in the southeast of the Peloponnese. The town developed down the hillside from the fortress built in 1249 by the prince of Achaia, William II of Villehardouin, at the top of a 620 m high hill overlooking Sparta. The Franks surrendered the castle to the Byzantines in 1262, it was the centre of Byzantine power in southern Greece, first as the base of the military governor and from 1348 as the seat of the Despotate of Morea. Captured by the Turks in 1460, it was occupied thereafter by them and the Venetians. After 1834 the inhabitants of Mystras gradually started to move to the modern town of Sparta leaving only the breath-taking medieval ruins, standing in a beautiful landscape.
Mystras, as the centre of Byzantine power, quickly attracted inhabitants and institutions; the bishopric was transferred there from Sparta, with its cathedral, the Metropolis or church of Hagios Demetrios, built after 1264. Many monasteries were founded there, including those of the Brontochion and the monastery of Christos Zoodotes (Christ the Giver of Life). Under the Despots, Mystras reached its zenith with the building of churches, outstanding examples of Late Byzantine church architecture, such as Hagioi Theodoroi (1290-1295), the Hodegetria (c. 1310), the Hagia Sophia (1350-1365), the Peribleptos (3rd quarter of the 14th century), the Evangelistria (late 14th – early 15th century) and the Pantanassa (c. 1430). The city was a major piece on the political chessboard of the time and was developed and beautified as befitted its role as a centre of power and culture. The city’s complex history is clearly evident in its fortifications, palaces, churches, convents, houses, streets and public squares.
Ο Μυστράς ήταν Βυζαντινή πολιτεία της Πελοποννήσου και απέχει έξι χιλιόμετρα ΒΔ της Σπάρτης. Σήμερα είναι ερειπωμένος, αν και έχουν αναστηλωθεί ορισμένα κτίσματα, όπως τα παλάτια, και αποτελεί πολύτιμη πηγή για τη γνώση της ιστορίας, της τέχνης και του πολιτισμού των δύο τελευταίων αιώνων του Βυζαντίου.
Συνετοί Δεσπότες, όπως ο Μανουήλ Καντακουζηνός, ο Θεόδωρος Β΄ Παλαιολόγος, ο Κωνσταντινος ο Β΄ Παλαιολογος, ο μετέπειτα τελευταίος αυτοκράτωρ του Βυζαντίου, συνετέλεσαν ώστε ο Μυστράς να επεκτείνει την εξουσία του σε όλη την Πελοπόννησο και να γίνει εστία της πολιτικής και πνευματικής ζωής της αυτοκρατορίας.
Το 1825 λεηλατήθηκε από τους Αιγυπτίους του Ιμπραήμ και από τότε σιγά σιγά εγκαταλείφθηκε και ιδρύθηκε ο νέος Μυστράς, το σημερινό ομώνυμο χωριό στους πρόποδες του λόφου. Με την ίδρυση του ελεύθερου κράτους οι Αρχές της επαρχίας Λακωνίας εγκαταστάθηκαν στον ερειπωμένο Μυστρά, λίγο όμως αργότερα, το 1834 ο Βασιλιάς Όθων θεμελιώνει τη νέα πόλη, τη Σπάρτη, επί του πρώτου πολεοδομικού σχεδίου που εκπονήθηκε στην Ελλάδα για να ακολουθήσει στη συνέχεια το Γύθειο, μετά από αίτηση των κατοίκων του Μυστρά να επανασχεδιαστεί η πόλη της Σπάρτης από αρχιτέκτονες που ο Ιωάννης Καποδίστριας θα έστελνε, πριν τη δολοφονία του. Από τότε άρχισαν να εγκαταλείπουν το Μυστρά και οι τελευταίοι κάτοικοί του.
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