The castle is situated near the old harbour in the heart of the historical centre of the city. The castle appears today is a structure rebuilt c. 1590 under the period of Ottoman rule.
Archaeological investigation revealed that it was built over an Early Christian basilica (4–7th centuries) and a Middle Byzantine monument (10th/11th centuries). According to Etienne Lusignan, the original castle was erected by Guy of Lusignan in 1193. Tradition tells, this is where Richard the Lionheart married Berengaria of Navarre already in 1191, when it must have been unfinished..
The first official reference to the fort dates to 1228, during the involvement of Emperor Frederick II in the affairs of Cyprus.

The castle was one of the targets of Mamluk attacks in 1420 and was captured by the Genoese in 1452, who held it for almost ten years. At the beginning of Venetian rule (1489–1571), the castle was destroyed by an earthquake, but after the Ottoman conquest of the island in 1571, it was rebuilt for defensive purposes.

During the British rule the underground chamber and the first floor were transformed into prison cells and remained in use until 1942.

Since 1987 the castle houses the Medieval Museum of Cyprus.

Tombstone
of Jean de Neville
1390 AD


Many gravestones from the Frankish period were
damaged by later conquerors, who scratched the faces