Buffavento Castle description and photos - Northern Cyprus: Kyrenia (Girne) (Topic)

Buffavento Castle description and photos - Northern Cyprus: Kyrenia (Girne). Detailed information about the attraction. Description, photographs and a map showing the nearest significant objects. The name in English is Buffavento Castle.

Photo and description

The beautiful old Buffavento castle is located on one of the mountain peaks in the northern part of Cyprus near the city of Girne (Kyrenia) at an altitude of 950 meters above sea level. Thanks to this, he got his poetic name, which in Italian means “protection from the winds” or “defying the wind.”

This structure was built in the Kyrenia mountains between the castles of Kantar and St. Hilarion in order to protect territories from Arab raids. Thanks to this arrangement of defensive structures, it was quite easy to control the most important mountain passages - a special warning system was established between the castles with the help of signal lights.

Initially, the castle was built, as historians believe, by the Byzantines in the 11th century. Later, after as the territory came under the control of the Lusignans in the 14th century, Buffavento was rebuilt and fortified. It was the French who began to use it as a prison for especially dangerous criminals, which they called the "Lion's Castle". According to some sources, most of the prisoners starved to death there. However, after a short time, when Buffavento passed into the hands of the Venetians, it ceased to play such a significant role in the defense of the territory and was gradually abandoned.

Buffavento consisted of two levels - on the lower one there were barracks and storage rooms where you can had to be entered through a large arched gate. About 20 minutes walk from the gate was the upper level, where there were other buildings, including the chapel.

Today, unfortunately, only ruins remain of the castle.

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Topic: Buffavento Castle description and photos - Northern Cyprus: Kyrenia (Girne).