Kritinia: Local History, Fountain and Kastellos Castle

If you are considering Kritinia as a destination for a stay, you can learn more about the place through its history and specific buildings. There is a marble drinking fountain in the square and a small church nearby; Kritinia Castle lies northwest of the village. The name was also changed in 1948.

The former name and Kritinia Castle

Kritinia was formerly called Kastellos and was renamed Kritinia in 1948. Kritinia Castle is also called Kastellos. The name is therefore used in two contexts: as the former name of the village and as another name for the castle. If you are exploring the village’s history, this distinction helps you avoid confusing Kritinia’s name history with the name of the building.

The castle stands on a rock above the sea, two kilometers northwest of Kritinia. During the Italian occupation, it served as a naval base. Its location and historical use offer two different points of reference for understanding the castle: the rock describes its position above the sea, while the naval base describes its function at the time. Alongside the history of the village’s name, this provides a separate point of interest in the surrounding area.

The castle contains remains of the buildings where the guards lived, as well as the ruins of the Catholic church of Hagios Pavlos, also called Saint Paul. These two kinds of remains belong to different structures within the castle complex: the guards’ buildings and a church. Together with the name Kastellos and its historical function as a naval base, they add further specific topics to the local history.

Historical traces in the square

A marble drinking fountain stands in Kritinia’s square. The Italians built it in 1914. Its material, location, and date make it a distinct point of interest in the village. Just a few meters from the square stands the small church of Saint John. It has wall paintings dating from the 16th century. The fountain and church thus bring together different dates: the wall paintings date from the 16th century, and the fountain was built in 1914. Thinking about the buildings in chronological order gives a brief comparison without suggesting that they belong to the same period.

The square is also associated with a small coffeehouse shaded by an old plane tree. This offers another, different point of interest alongside the marble fountain. If you would like to include the coffeehouse in your plans, check in advance whether it is open.

Kritinia as a destination for your hotel search

When looking for hotels in Kritinia, these different topics can be a useful starting point: the village’s name history, the buildings in the square, or the castle to the northwest. Consider which of these historical points of interest matter most to your plans. You can then compare individual hotels based on their respective details. This way, you can begin your search with the destination and its specific features, rather than with a general idea of what a stay there should offer.

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For the main travel overview: Rhodes.