Mystras - Mystras

Mystras, Greek Greek: Μυστράς, also Mistras or Mystra is a ruined city west of Sparta on the edge of the Taygetos Mountains in the province Laconia. The late Byzantine buildings have been part of the World Heritage the Unesco.

background

In the course of the Fourth Crusade, the Byzantine Empire was broken up and dismembered. Among other things, the Duchy of Athens and that arose on Greek soil Principality of Achaia, which included the Peloponnese. Several castles were built to secure this area, including the Mystra fortress on a hill near Sparta in 1249. As early as 1263 the crusaders had to give this fortress back to the Byzantines, after which the inhabitants of Sparta went under the protection of the castle and Mystras blossomed into the cultural center. The areas of the Peloponnese recaptured by the Byzantines now formed that Despotate Morea with the capital Mystras. This only lasted until 1460, when the city was conquered by the Turks.

In 1687 the Venetians succeeded in conquering the area around Mystras, but in 1715 they had to give the land back to the Turks. Mystras had lost its importance, after further looting and destruction during the Greek struggle for freedom, the decision was made to give up the city and to found a new city on the site of ancient Sparta.

history

The Frankish prince Wilhelm II of Villehardouin, Prince of Achaia, spent the winter of 1248/49 in Lakedaimonia (Sparta) and had the castle Mistra built a few kilometers to the west on a foothill of the Taygetus. After his capture at the Battle of Pelagonia in 1260, he was forced to join Mistra Michael VIII. Palaiologos who became emperor of Byzantium the following year. Gradually the population of Lacedaemonia settled near the fortress and the town of Mistra was built below the castle. The city became the starting point for the expulsion of the Franks from and the reconquest of the Peloponnese by the Byzantine emperors. Mistra was originally ruled by governors, who were each appointed for one year, from 1308 to 1348 by irremovable governors (despots). Under the rule of the last despot Manuel Kantakuzenos (1348 to 1380), son of the Byzantine emperor John VI Kantakuzenos, Mistra experienced a cultural boom. Manuel Kantakuzenos was married to the French princess Isabella von Luisignan. The educated John VI Kantakuzenos abdicated as emperor in 1354 and retired to Mistra as a monk. Under Theodor I. Palaiologos (1383 to 1407) and Theodore II. Palaiologos (1407 to 1443) became the center of Byzantine intellectual life and after Constantinople the most important city of the Byzantine Empire. The Neoplatonic philosopher Georgios Gemistos plethon came to Mistra around 1400 and founded an academy here to study ancient authors. Plethon took part in the Council of Ferrara-Florence in 1438/1439, which sought to unite Catholic and Orthodox Christianity. Under his influence, Cosimo de Medici founded the Platonic Academy in Florence, which played a major role in making Florence the center of the Renaissance and humanism. Bessarion of Trebizondwho later became cardinal and titular patriarch of Constantinople, Cyriavus of Ancona, the famous traveler, and Hieronymos Charitimos, who later held a professorship in Greek at the University of Paris, stayed in Mistra, the Byzantine emperor Constantine XI. Dragases Palaiologos left the despotate of Morea to his brothers Thomas and Demetrios in 1449. Emperor Constantine took part in the defense of Constantinople against the Turks in 1453. Mistra was sultan of Turkey in 1459 Memet conquered, in 1460 the last despot Demetrios left his fortresses in Morea to the Sultan, thus ending the Byzantine despotate of Morea. The fall of Mistra was then considered to be just as significant as the conquest of Constantinople a few years ago. In the event of an attack by the Prince Sigismondo-Pandolfoe Malatesta from Rimini he was able to capture the remains of Georgios Gemistos Plethon. He had the "prince among the philosophers of his time" buried in the Church of San Francesco in Rimini. Mistra was under Turkish rule from 1460 to 1687 and 1715 to 1825, and from 1687 to 1715 under the greatest Enzian rule. During this time it had become a flourishing trading city with up to 40,000 inhabitants through the breeding of the silkworms. In 1825 Mistra was destroyed by the Egyptian general Ibrahim Pascha in the course of the Greek wars of freedom. After the re-establishment of Sparta on behalf of King Otto in 1834 Mistra was abandoned by the population and left to decay.

literature

Goethe moved the connection between Helena and Faust to Mistra and saw it as the scene where the legends of antiquity unite with the history of the Middle Ages.

Francois Rene de Chateubriand describes Mistra: "Here, at the Tritsella spring, we were behind Mistra, and almost at the foot of the ruined castle that dominates the city. The same thing stands on the top of a, so to speak, pyramildal-shaped rock. We had spent eight hours on all these rambles, and it was already four o'clock in the afternoon. We now dismounted our horses and walked up to the castle, through the board of Jews, which snail-shaped around the rock to the foot of the Castle, and was completely destroyed by the Albanians. Only the walls of the houses remained, and through the windows and doors you can still see the traces of the flames that consumed these old hiding places of poverty. Children, just as wanton as the Spartans from which they are descended hide in these ruins, ambush the traveler and then greet him with pieces of wall or rock e I have become the victim of this kind of laced-demonic game. The Gothic castle, which stands over the ruins, is itself a ruin; Broken loopholes, vaults torn with cracks everywhere and the mouths of cisterns make it impossible to walk around in them without danger. There are neither gates, nor guards, nor cannons; everything is abandoned; but the effort that has been made to climb it is amply rewarded by the view that is enjoyed upstairs. Below on the left is the ruined part of Mistra, namely the Jewish suburb of which I have just spoken. At the far end of this board you can see the Archbishop's house and the Church of St. Dimitrie, surrounded by a group of Greek houses and gardens, and looking down, one overlooks that part of the city called Katachorion, that is, the spot under the castle. Further on is the mesochorion, the spot in the middle. This one has large gardens and contains houses painted in Turkish, red and green; There are also bazaars, khans and mosques. To the right at the foot of the Taygetos you can see three large villages or suburbs, one behind the other, through which I had passed: Tritsella, Panthalama and Parori. Two rivers flow from the city itself. The first is called Hobriopotamos, the river of the Jews; it runs through between Katachorion and Mesochorion. The other is called Panthalama, from the source of the nymphs, from which it springs; further on, in the plain, near the abandoned village of Magula, it unites with the Hobriopotamos. These two streams, over which small bridges lead, made La Guilletiere the Eurotas and the Bridge Babyx and gave them the common name Gephuro, which I think he should have written Gephura. At Magula the two united rivers flow into the Magula, the old Enacion, which itself falls into the Eurotas. Seen from the castle of Mistra, the laconic valley is splendid. It runs from around midnight to noon, is bounded on the west by the Taygetes, on the east by the mountains Thornax, Barbosthenes, Olympus and Menelayon. Small hills close the midnight part of the valley, and gradually descend, lowered on the noon side, until with their foremost slopes they form the hills on which Sparta lay. From then on to the sea, a fertile area, through which the Eurotas flows, extends. "

getting there

The ruins are located on the territory of the municipality Sparta.

mobility

There are big differences in altitude on the site. A good way of visiting is the access to the upper entrance into the upper town, then it is almost only downhill. The facility is not barrier-free. Numerous steps, some of which are quite smooth and also high, and a very uneven floor require more than a minimum of attention. The facility is definitely not suitable for people with reduced mobility.

Tourist Attractions

Mystras is divided into three areas:

• the citadel on the top of the hill, surrounded by a wall
• the upper town, also fortified with a wall and only accessible through a few well-secured gates
• the lower town, also surrounded by a massive wall.

There are also a few buildings outside the wall.

1 main entrance (363 m) 2 cathedral 3 Evangelistria 4 St. Theodor (400 m) 5 Hodegetria 6 Monemvasia Gate 7 St. Nicholas 8 Despotenpalast (480 m) 9 Nauplia Gate

10 Upper entrance 11 St. Sophia 12 Small palace 13 Citadel (590 m) 14 Mavroporta 15 Pantanassa (monastery, 425 m) 16 Archangels (Taxiarchs) 17 Frangopoulos House 18 Peribleptos (350 m)

19 St. George 20 Krevata House 21 Marmara entrance 22 Ai Yannakids 23 laskaris house 24 St. Christopher 25 ruins 26 St. Cyriak

The area is from 1.4. until October 31 Open from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m., winter opening times (1.11.-31.3.): 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.

Admission € 12, reduced € 6 (as of April 16, 2019). In winter, entry costs € 6 for everyone.

When visiting from the upper entrance, the next well-preserved building is the Agia Sofia or St. Sophia. The church was built around 1360 and was used as a mosque in Turkish times. In their side chapels were burial places of the ruling princes, the ceiling of the vault is adorned with a well-preserved fresco. The further course through the upper town leads past St. Nicholas, built in the Ottoman period, with frescoes from the 18th century. The impressive Despot's Palace is currently (2011) an equally impressive building site thanks to extensive restoration work.

By the Monemvasia Gate one arrives in the area of ​​the lower town. What is still inhabited today is very well preserved Pantanassa monastery. You can visit the facility, the nuns offer embroidery and other souvenirs for sale. The monastery church is a good example of the architecture of the churches in Mystra: a cross vault is placed on a three-aisled basilica. The frescoes in the upper part of the dome are from the 15th century. the lower part was in the 18th century. repainted. The iconostasis is also worth seeing. The numerous pieces of paper on the left indicate the miracle work of the icon, they are affixed by the faithful as thanks or intercession.

Well worth seeing in the lower town Frescoes in the Brontochion Monastery with the churches St. Theodore (No. 4) and Afendiko (Hodegetria, No. 5) and in the Peribleptos Monastery (No. 18). Not far from the lower gate is the cathedral Demetrios at the former bishopric (Metropolis, No. 2).

• The Fortress (despot's palace) was founded in 1248/1249 by Wilhelm von Villehardouin. The Despotenpalast was the residence of the Byzantine governors (despots) and the largest palace of that time on Greek soil. The ruins stand on a platform below the summit. From the building with an L-shaped floor plan from the middle of the 13th to the end of the 14th century the outer walls of three storeys are preserved. The Franconian "City Palace" formed the southeast wing of the building. The palace was expanded around 1348 when the despot Manuel Kantakuzenos moved in. For this a residential palace was built, which was connected to the older Franconian Castle with a service wing. The despots' residence had six large rooms on two floors. A terrace supported by arcades was added on the valley side, from which a wide view of the Eurata valley plain opens up. In the eastern part of the residential wing there is a chapel and a high defense tower. In the following years the building with the throne room was built. It is 38 by 12 meters and has a facade that dominates the square in front of it. The throne room was located on the upper floor above a basement where the servants' apartments were located. It had rectangular windows with Gothic ornamental frames and six round skylights. The place where the throne of the despots stood was emphasized by a bay window and crowned with the double-headed eagle as a symbol of the ruling palaeologists. Another residential wing was not built until the end of the reign of the palaeologists, probably in 1421 for the court of Cleopatra Malatesta. The Turkish governor of Mistra resided in the palace. During the Turkish rule, a mosque, baths and a small bazaar were added. The palace cannot be visited, the area is closed. (As of 11/24/19)
• The Episcopal Church (Metropolis Hagios Demetrios) is dedicated to the soldier saint Demetrios and is the oldest church in Mistras. The history of its construction can be found in an inscription on the south wall, dated 1291/92. The church was donated by Bishop Nikophoros Moschopoulos, Mettropolite of Laconia with his seat in Mistra. The construction of the 13th / 14th century was a three-aisled basilica with a wooden ceiling. At the beginning of the 15th century, an upper floor in the form of a cross-domed church with central and corner domes was added to the nave of the basilica. A grandstand with side galleries was built above the narthex (vestibule). Here the ladies of the court could take part in the service. The two construction periods can also be clearly distinguished from the outside. The tower and the vestibule in the east date from the 15th century. Some of the older wall paintings were destroyed during the renovation. In the central nave, scenes from the life of Christ are depicted, in the left aisle scenes from the living St. Demetrios and in the right aisle from the life of Mary. In the apse of the Holy of Holies there is a representation of Our Lady with the Child, in the diakonicon (adjoining room of the main apse) the Trinity and in the narthex representations of the Last Judgment and the ecumenical councils. In the floor there is a stone slab with the double-headed eagle, the coat of arms of the Byzantine emperors, in memory of the coronation of the last Byzantine emperor Constantine XI. Admitted in 1449. Saint Demetrios probably suffered martyrdom under Kais Maximianus. Along with St. George, he is the most portrayed soldier saint. The Demetrios cult was carried over to the west by the crusaders, who worshiped Demetrios as a battle helper.
• The Vrontochion Monastery on the north side of the city hill contains the Hag church. Theodori (late 13th century) and the Odogitria Church (signpost), which is popularly called "Afendiko" (Church of the Rulers). The barrel-vaulted refectory, a kitchen and living quarters have been preserved from the monastery complex. They surrounded a wide courtyard on which the foundation stone for a new church was laid in 1311. The builder was the Archimandrite Pachomos. This church combines the types of the three-aisled basilica with gallery and the cross-domed church. The construction was originally planned as a cross-domed church, the plan was changed so that the church was given the character of a basilica. A gallery was built above the arcades of the nave and a central box for the despot above the narthex (vestibule). The impression of a cross-domed church with a central dome and four smaller domes in the corners was retained on the upper floor. The frescoes in the church are badly damaged. Angels are depicted in the main apse, originally there was an image of the Mother of God here. In the eastern vault the Ascension of Christ, in the side aisles saints, in the narthex the miracles of Christ, in the right arm of the cross the baptism of Christ and in the dome of the western gallery the Mother of God with Christ, prophets and figures of the Old Testament. In the north side chapel are the tombs of the despot Theodoros II. Palaiologos (died 1444) with his portraits as a despot and as a monk in a cowl, as well as the archimandrite Pachomos with a fresco on which he kneels and hands over the model of the church to Our Lady. The painting of the chapel at the south end of the narthex is unusual: four rays emanate from a no longer preserved image of Christ in glory in the dome, which ends in hands. These hold the chrysobulls (imperial documents) with the privileges of the monastery, which testify to the extensive land ownership of the monastery in the years 1313 to 1323 and whose texts cover the walls. Hag. Theodori has an octagonal central room. It is reminiscent of the Daphni Church near Athens, but is much smaller.
• The Pantanassa Monastery ("All Ruler") was built in 1365 by Manuel Kantakuzenos and expanded in 1428 by Johannes Frankopulos, the minister of the despot Constantine XI. It is the only monastery that is still inhabited by nuns today. The catholicon of the nunnery is particularly well preserved and is considered the most beautiful church in Mistra. Their building type corresponds to the second building phase of the Odegetria and is referred to as the "Mistra type". It consists of a three-aisled ground floor in the form of a basilica and an upper floor with galleries in the form of a cross-domed church. After a lost inscription, the church was consecrated to you in 1428. Under the windows on the western side and on the north-western capital is the monogram of the founder Johannes Frankopulos. The church has a main dome over the center of the church, smaller domes at the corners, arched cross arms, a high dome over the gallery of the narthex and a three-story tower. The capitals inside are spoils from early Christian churches. The so-called “pseudokufic” relief decoration on the entrance door is based on Islamic models, while the blind arcades on the outside and the bell tower indicate Western influence. The frescoes from the time the church was built have been partially preserved. In the dome, Christ is depicted as Pantocrator (world ruler), including the four evangelists, in the vault of Hieron (eastern part of the church behind the choir screen) the Ascension of Christ, in the apse the Virgin Mary between archangels. Further frescoes show the entry of Christ into Jerusalem, the baptism of Christ, Jesus in the temple, the birth of Christ and the resurrection of Lazarus. This monastery is the last founding of the monastery in Mistra, it is surrounded by a high wall.
• The Panaghia Perivleptos Church (Much admired Mother of God) is an excellent example of the art of the early despots of Mistra. It was built before 1350 as the Katholikon (main church) of a monastery, which was located in the steep cliff on the western city wall. A tower-like structure has been preserved from this church. The church has an unusual plan in the form of a parallelogram, which is determined by the terrain. It belongs to the so-called "2-pillar type" of the cross-domed church. Inside, the extraordinary height of the cross arms is particularly noteworthy. In a cave on the west side there is a chapel dedicated to St. Catherine. The fresco decorations in the eastern arm of the cross and in the dome are particularly well preserved. In the main apse the enthroned Mother of God is depicted with angels, including the Lord's Supper. The Lord's Supper is depicted on the walls of Hieron, above the Transfiguration of Christ. This picture spans the entire vault. In the dome there is the image of Pantocrator on eight ornate columns, between which standing prophets, Mary between angels and the preparation of the throne of Christ are depicted. These frescoes are among the highlights of medieval church painting in Greece.
• The Haghia Sophia church was founded after 1350 by order of the despot Manuel II. Kantakuzenos erected above the palace. As the catholicon of a monastery and palace church, it was consecrated to Christos Zoodotos (life-giving Christ) and later renamed Hagia Sophia (Holy Wisdom). The architecture corresponds to the church Panaghia Perivleptos: a basilical domed structure. On the capitals there are monograms of the founder and coat of arms of Manuel Kantakuzenos with the double-headed eagle. God the Father is depicted in the dome, underneath there is a mosaic on the floor that is interpreted as omphalos (navel of the world). The northern vestibule served the despot as an entrance, here is a chapel of Our Lady with the image of Panaghia as intercessor in the apse. The burial place of the despot family adjoins the three-story bell tower in the west. Haghia Sophia was the only church in Mistras that served as a mosque in Turkish times.
• The Haghii Theodorii Church (St. Theodore) is consecrated to the warrior saints St. Theodor Stratelares (military leader) and St. Theodor Tiro. It was originally probably the Katholikon and later the burial church of the Vrontochion monastery. It was built before 1296 by the Archimandrite Pachomios. The church has a square central space with a large dome. The abbots' grave chapels are located in the outer corners of the arms of the cross. The model for the building was the church of Hagia Sophia in Monemvasia and the monastery church of Daphni, which is, however, much larger. The frescoes from the time it was built are badly damaged, and the colorful depictions of the warrior saints can be seen on the lower pillars.

activities

shop

kitchen

nightlife

accommodation

health

Practical advice

There are several ways to visit the facility in a way that is easy on your strength:

• You drive to the Fortress Gate and descend from there. When you have parked at Fortress Gate, walk back across the street to the parking lot. (At least 1 km over serpentines)
• You can take a taxi to the Fortress Gate, descend and order the taxi driver to go to the main entrance.
• You drive to the Fortress Gate, descend to the Despotenpalast and go back to the parking lot. Then you drive the car to the main entrance and from there climb up and down to the Despot's Palace.

trips

literature

• Nikos V. Georgiadis, Mistra, Athens 2006, 9th edition (unfortunately no ISBN), € 7.50
• Löhneysen, Wolfgang from: Mistra. Greece's Fate in the Middle Ages; Morea under Franks, Byzantines and Ottomans, Munich: Prestel 1977, ISBN 3791304054 (out of print)
• Runciman, Steven: Mistra. Byzantine Capital on the Peloponnese, London, 1980, reprint: Runciman, Steven: The Lost Capital of Byzantium. The History of Mistra on the Peloponnese, Harvard University Press, 2009, ISBN 0-674-03405-8 (English, also available as an e-book)

Web links