Kolossi Castle
A solid 15th-century keep built by the Knights Hospitaller amid vineyards and sugar-cane fields. It gave its name to the sweet Commandaria wine.
Photo: Diego Delso / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Kolossi was the Grand Commandery of the Knights of St John in Cyprus. The present three-storey tower dates from 1454. You can climb a spiral staircase past vaulted halls to the roof, which looks over the surrounding orchards.
Next to the keep stand the remains of a medieval sugar factory, a reminder that Cypriot sugar was once a prized export. The wine of the estate's vineyards, Commandaria, is one of the oldest named wines still produced.
Good to know
The visit is short, around 30–45 minutes, so it pairs easily with Kourion.
Perks nearby
No partner within 10 km yet. Partners join through the year, and this page updates as they do.
Limassol: more places
All places in Limassol →
KourionA clifftop ancient city-kingdom above Episkopi Bay, with a restored Greco-Roman theatre, fine mosaics and one of the most dramatic sea views in Cyprus.
Limassol Castle (Cyprus Medieval Museum)A stout medieval castle in Limassol's old town that now houses the Cyprus Medieval Museum, steps from the old port.
Sanctuary of Apollo HylatesThe ancient sanctuary of Apollo, god of the woodlands, near Kourion, with a partly re-erected Roman temple among pines and carob trees.