Archaeological Site of Mystras
After having conquered Constantinople in 1204, the Crusaders divided Greece among themselves. Small states were created. One of those was Mystras, established by Guillaume de Villehardouin. It started as a castle, but the inhabitants of nearby Sparta fled to this safe place and developed it into a city.
At the end of the 14th century, Mystras was the centre of the Peloponnesus and flourished as never before. It also became an intellectual centre, where artists and writers found a refuge.
In 1460, Mystras fell into Turkish hands. It lost its grand status but remained a commercial centre where at one stage 42.000 people lived. The city finally came to its end after a fire in 1825.
Visit December 2001
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Mystras is the best thing I saw (so far) in Greece. The city from the Middle Ages is plastered against a mountain near Sparta. It's December, but it looks like fall: brown trees, fresh but chilly air, some dark clouds. The entrance gate to Mystras welcomes you in true medieval style: I knew at once I was going to like it here.
What remains of the city are its churches, a monastery, some walls and roads. The steep, cobbled streets are mostly genuine, and give the feeling of actually walking there in the 14th century. The roads were narrow then, so narrow the edges of building were removed to leave more space for passers-by. Of course there were shops then, markets and handicraft businesses. It would be great to be able to time travel on this spot.
The focuspoints are the Byzantine churches of Mystras. They were restored, both in- and outside. Frescoes, with a lot of dark blue colours, have come to the surface. The red round or octagonal roofs stand out between the now brown and green trees that surround this site. You can only walk around this scenery openmouthed.
Reviews
Christer Sundberg (Sweden):
 From Olympia I took the bus over the Peloponnesian Mountains. Even though I’m a Scandinavian and quite familiar with mountains, I must say it was a stunning experience to drive along the slopes and suddenly find yourself in a small mountain town where the local market forced my bus to a sudden stop. Or the horror experience of meeting a fully loaded lorry on a narrow mountain road with a 300 meter sloap just half a meter outside your window.
Having survived this close-to-a-heart-attach-experience I reached the relatively uninteresting town of Sparta. Some remains from an amphitheatre is about it on the archaeological menu. Instead the major sight is about 5 km west of the town, on a mountainside - the Byzantine town of Mystras - founded by the French crusaders and then developed into a major centre of culture and trade in the 13th and 14th century. I recommend you strongly to take a taxi as far up as you can, then climb the remaining 150 meters to the crusader castle and then take a slow walk down the remains of ancient Mystras. Small monasteries, churches and houses flanks the way down to the entrance, some 200 meters downhill. Beautiful frescos and excellent Byzantine architecture will make your day before you return to one of Sparta’s better establishments for a nice Greek dinner. |
| Date posted: February 2006 |
Paul Tanner (UK):
 As of 2004 the Greek inscribed list of 16 mainly “classical” sites also contains 7 “non classical”, mainly Byzantine. Mystras is one of these, but unusual, in that it is now an uninhabited and largely ruined city. In the 14th and 15th centuries it had strong cultural credentials (Michelin talks of “The Florence of the Orient”!). These included philosophy as well as art and architecture. It surrendered to the Turks in 1460 but was not finally abandoned until it was pillaged during the Greek War of Independence around 1825
Today, its most obvious claim to fame rests on the (more than 12??) Byzantine “churches”, including a cathedral and several monasteries. Many have been restored and contain fine murals. These are of course “worth a visit” even for a non “Byzantium specialist” but it was the general atmosphere of calm and rural solitude which I remember. The large site provides plenty of opportunity to wonder the cobbled streets and courtyards at leisure soaking up the scent of wild flowers and looking out over the vistas of Greek countryside. Also, as I remember it, even finding “wild” tortoises (at least they were when we picked them up)! Avoid the heat of the day as it is built on the side of a mountain (photo) and there is a lot of climbing. |
| Date posted: June 2005 |
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