MYSTRAS THE BYZANTINE CASTLE STATE

Text and research by Nikos Aivalis, translation by Eva Trombetas

Starting from historic and glorious Sparta in Laconia, we have as our destination Mystras, a distance of 8 km. Following the road EO Spartis Mystras, through a beautiful route, from where we pass through the park Goude and Palaiologio, already from that point it seems the castle city of Mystras adorning the slopes of Taygetos.

Arriving at the village of Mystras, we see a beautiful and picturesque village, with stone houses, paved streets, beautiful small squares, quality shops, while the statue of Constantinos Palaiologos stands on the road from the village to the entrance of the castle town, in a beautiful square full of flowers. Constantinos IA Palaiologos, the Last Emperor of Byzantium, was born on 8 February 1405 and died on 29 May 1453 during the fall of Constantinople by the Ottomans. Fighting heroically, he became a legendary figure of the Greek tradition, as the "marble King", who would wake up and re-take Constantinople from the Turks. He was born in Constantinople with father Manuel II Palaiologos and mother Eleni Dragasi. In 1427 Constantinos found himself with many villages from Laconia and Messinia under his command.

statue of Constantinos Palaiologos, Mystras

October 1443 Constantinos became despot of Mystras and made many attempts to strengthen the military forces and defenses of the Peloponnese against the threat of the Ottomans. On January 6, 1449, Constantinos was crowned emperor in Mystras, in the church of st. Demetrius and left for Constantinople, so that some years later he would pass in the pantheon of the Greek heroes.

marble relief with the double-headed eagle in the church of Agios Dimitrios,
where Constantinos stepped to be crowned emperor in Mystras

Mystras was the most powerful city of the Peloponnese from the 13th to the 15th century. A well-fortified city, the capital of the Despotate. The castle was deserted about 1832, when the inhabitants began to go to Sparta, with only a few nuns in the monastery of Pantanassa. A place full of ruins reminiscent of the glorious past of Mystras, huge walls, fortress, towers, a small palace, mansions, churches and monasteries compose the sights of the place, combined with a wonderful view from all points, overlooking the Laconic plain. Even today Mystras is considered one of the most representative monuments of the Byzantine Empire, with thousands of visitors every year, and has been declared by UNESCO a World Heritage Site.

Pantasassa Monastery

Descending from the castle city, we find ourselves again in the beautiful village of Mystras, in order to tour the most modern part of the area. In the village there are large and state-of-the-art hotel units, with endless views and all amenities for every visitor, and there are even camping facilities. The village of Mystras has about 500 inhabitants, and there are two wonderful museums, the Camera Museum of the photographer Takis Aivalis, as well as the Archaeological Museum of Mystras, which is housed in a two-storey building in the courtyard of the metropolis, in the church of Agios Dimitrios.

Mystras square

In the central square, we see a beautiful landscape that offers the Taygetos generously with forests, the castle perched on its slopes, the stone houses of the village, while the square itself is an attraction, a stone-paved, with a huge tree in the centre of this, to supervise and to provide summer coolness and limpid water, which runs through the maple tree, with flowers, basil and other plants around the tree, to make the soul of any visitor to feel at one with nature.

running water in the square

Around the square there are various shops with local products, souvenir shops, shops of handmade Byzantine art, as well as restaurants, which are ready to give everyone unique flavors of quality products and traditional food, while you can enjoy the company of people there, from whom you can learn many stories about the past years, in a warm atmosphere.

statue of Theodoros Kolokotronis, Mystras

Every year, from 27 August to 2 September, there is a great festival in Mystras, which is not just an important economic event for the region, but a reference point of commercial and cultural history of the region, which began in 1950 in honor of Agios Ioannis Prodromos. At the festival there is a huge open-air bazaar and an infinite number of products.

rainy day in Mystras

Mystras is a wonderful destination worth visiting either winter or summer, each season offers its own landscape and its own beauties, but one thing is certain, that everyone who goes to the village of Mystras and the castle city, will stay in the heart of it as one of the most loved and valued destinations.