CHRYSOHERA FORTRESS

Situated some 2.5 km from the port, between Horio and Pothea, this castle was built by the Knights of the Order of St. John of Jerusalem in the ^mid-15th century, on Byzantine foundations. The Kalymniotes forcibly recruited for the construction of the medieval buildings rebelled, questioning the value of this new fortress when the kastro already existed in Horio. They took their complaint to the Court of Rhodes, which ruled that Governor Fantino Querini had indeed gone too far in his zeal... But the fortress had already been launched and was quietly finished off by the Kalymniotes. However, the little fortified city was abandoned only a few decades after its construction, having been extensively damaged by successive Ottoman attacks.

Inside the walls, which are freely accessible, there are still two churches to be admired, including the Panaghia Chrysohera church, named "The Virgin with the Golden Hands" in reference to a legend that many gold coins were found in the floor of the church. What is certain is that many Mycenaean tombs and burial treasures were discovered in the surrounding area by the British at the end of the ^19th century. As usual, they pocketed the finds, which are now on display at the British Museum in London... The view of Pothea and the sea from the heights of the fortress is splendid, especially at sunrise for the early risers.