Antimachia

Basilica of St. Anargiron
The Basilica of St Anargiron is situated in the village  of Antimachia. A large part of the Basilica is covered by a house built in the 20 the century.
Castle of Antimachia
The castle of Andimahia was founded, according to information from the Ioanniton archives of Malta, at the beginning of the 14th century by H. de Vileleneue in the place of a small Byzantine castle. With the passing of time the uses of the castle varied according to what was needed. From 1383, according to a decision made by the General committee of the Knights, the castle was used as a prison for condemned knights.According to three different documents from the middle of the 15th century it seems the castle was a fortified settlement, a small castle city. The central gate of the castle was protected by a big semi-circle bastion. This was the work of Fabrizio del Carretto (1513 – 1521 AD ). The wall towards the flat north – south side were impressive. They were fortified in the low sections while in the south towards Kardemena, the castle took advantage of the steep slope of the ground. Inside the castle three churches were saved. The church of St Paraskevi, St Nikolas and the relics of the church of St Mary’s Eleimonitrias. During the Turkish reign a mosque was built but it no longer exists. The constant attacks by the Ottoman fleet, and by the pirates who came to the Aegean in the 15th – 16th century, drove the residents of the island to flee to the interior of the castle many times since the Ioannites Knights considered it one of the safest castles. In the middle of the 19th century the residents abandoned the castle and moved towards the northern area of the island and south towards the sea, thus establishing two new settlements, that of Andimahia and that of Kardamena.
Rate this item
(2 votes)
back to top