Kastrologos

Castles of Greece
 

Manolada, Andravida-Kyllini, Elis,West Greece

Kounoupeli Tower

  
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Location:
On a hill on the NW coast of Peloponnese, at the south end of Kalogria beach, north of Manolada in Elia
Region > Prefecture: Greek Map
West Greece
Elis
Municipality > Town:
City of Andravida-Kyllini
• Manolada
Altitude:
Elevation ≈ 25 m 
Time of Construction   Origin
13th century (?)  
FRANKISH
H 
Castle Type   Condition
Tower  
Rather Poor
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

The ruins of a tower which was part of a medieval settlement.

The tower is on a low hill at the southern end of the vast Kalogria beach in northwestern Peloponnese.

The name of the settlement in the Middle Ages was perhaps Mandria or Salina. It was at the location of an ancient city that is identified with Hyrmina by some scholars.

The settlement was fortified during the Frangokratia, most probably in the 13th century.


Structure, Fortification & Buildings

The site covers two hills of 0.3 and 0.2 square km each. The sides facing the sea are steep; those facing the hinterland are rocky but smooth.

The southwest hill covers a plateau of 10 hectares at its peak with traces of a circuit wall in ruin, built from unworked blocks of local limestone without mortar.There are also traces of small buildings and perhaps of one church.

On the lower and less steep hill there is a plateau of about 200 acres. There are traces of buildings here as well. At the peak of this hill, is the tower.

The second floor of the tower has collapsed. It measures circa 7.5m✖8.3m. It is built of stones and hard mortar and it contains no doors on the first level.

The large size of the tower is an indication that it was not a simple watchtower. It was either the keep of the settlement or the lord’s mansion. Or both.

The chapel of Agios Nikolaos, to the east, is a post-medieval building. It contains an Ottoman-period icon dedicated by a shipwrecked sailor.


First entry in Kastrologos:    July 2014
Last addition of photo/video:  October 2021

Sources

  • Website ancientgreece.gr -Πύργος Κουνουπέλι
  • Konstantinos Kourelis, “MONUMENTS OF RURAL ARCHAEOLOGY MEDIEVAL SETTLEMENTS ΙΝ ΤΗΕ NORTHWESTERN PELOPONNESE”, Presented to the Faculties of the University of Pennsylvania in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy, 2003, pp.301-303
  • ΑΡΧΑΙΟΛΟΓΙΚΟΝ ΔΕΛΤΙΟΝ, τόμος 53 (1998), τεύχος Β1, σελ.305
  • Video by the user Kostas Gertzos ΠΥΡΓΟΣ ΚΟΥΝΟΥΠΕΛΙ, ΗΛΕΙΑ. KOUNOUPELI TOWER, ELIS (ILIA), GREECE.




Road map to Kounoupeli Tower

Access
Approach to the monument:
-
Entrance:
Free access


Other castles around
Dymaean Wall
Glarentza Castle
Teriolo castle
Tower of Aï-Giannis monastery
Chlemoutsi