What Is The Palace Of The Grand Masters Museum – Rhodes?
The Palace of the Grand Master of the Knights of Rhodes, also known as the Castello, is a medieval castle in the city of Rhodes, on the island of Rhodes in Greece. Rhodes is the largest of the Dodecanese Island of Greece and has a population of approximately 116,000.
The Palace is one of the few examples of Gothic architecture in Greece and was once the epicentre of life for the knights who lived on the island. The site functioned as a palace, headquarters, and fortress.
The stately castle sits on the highest point in medieval Rhodes and has a fascinating history. It is situated on the Avenue of the Knights and is today home of the Byzantine Museum.
The Palace of the Grand Master is probably the most iconic monument of the Hospitaller period in Rhodes. It was restored in the 1930s and gained its present internal layout as the administrative headquarters and residence of the Italian governor during the period of the Italian occupation of the island.
History
History has it that on the spot where the palace is situated today, use to be an ancient temple of Helios, the Sun god. It is said that the palace was built on the foundations of the temple. It was probable the spot where Colossus of Rhodes stood in the Antiquity.
The palace was originally built in the late 7th century as a Byzantine citadel. The Knights that came to live here in the 11th century, was originally founded as a military order in Jerusalem. They were known as the Hospitallers and was made up of a celibate brotherhood of knights who served under a Grand Master. The order still exists today.
When Jerusalem fell in 1291, the Hospitallers moved to Cyprus. They occupied Rhodes and some other Greek islands in 1309 and turned Rhodes into their temporal domain. The fortress was converted into their administrative centre and the palace of their Grand Master.
Various repairs and modifications were done on the Palace during the first quarter of the 14th century. It was damaged in the earthquake of 1481 but was repaired by the Knights.
Rhodes also lay directly in the sights of pirates which the Knights had to fight of for many years. In 1522, the Ottoman Suleiman the Magnificent, brought 100,000 men for a final showdown with the island’s 7,000 knights and men in arms. The seize lasted for six months with the Knights finally retreating to Sicily.
After occupation by the Ottoman the buildings and palace lost it importance and was used as a command centre and fortress, also housing a prison. Several earthquakes over the next couple of years gradually damaged the building until, in 1865, the lower parts of the palace were severely damaged by an ammunition explosion in the nearby basement of the church of St. John.
It was used as an arsenal by the Ottomans, and the first floor of the palace collapsed completely. As a result, many rooms on the first floor were destroyed.
Only during the Italian occupation in 1937 did restoration start on the palace by the Italian architect Vittorio Mesturino. He worked on the palace between 1937 and 1940 and restored it too much of its current appearance. He was later criticized for destroying parts of the original construction.
It became a holiday residence for the King of Italy, Victor Emmanuel III, and later for Fascist dictator Benito Mussolini, whose name can still be seen on a large plaque near the entrance.
Rhodes was unified with Greece in 1947, after the signing of the Treaty of Peace with Italy after WWII. One of the Paris Peace Treaties determined that the Dodecanese Islands would be transferred to Greece. The palace was turned into a museum by the Greek government in 1948.
In 1988, when Greece held the rotating presidency of the European Economic Community, Greek Prime Minister Andreas Papandreou and the other leaders of the EEC held a meeting in the Palace.
Interest For Today
There are over 150 rooms in the palace but only a handful are open for public viewing. In the rooms are beautiful carved seats, wall hangings, mosaics, numerous vases, and hand-woven textiles from medieval times.
Visitors can admire the ancient mosaic floors installed by the Italians that originally came from secular and ecclesiastical monuments excavated in the island of Kosi. There are also antique columns and capitals, candelabra, mirrors, and paintings.
Visitors will find the permanent exhibition Rhodes from the 4th century AD to its Capture by the Ottoman Turks (1522) housed in a series of rooms on the ground floor. It contains representative finds of all kinds from archaeological excavations in the medieval town such as sculptures, pottery, detached murals, implements, portable icons, etc. Excavations continue at the ancient city site of Rhodes today.
Hours of Business
- Winter: 1 November to 31 March, Wednesday to Monday from 08:30 – 15:30
Tuesdays: Closed
- Summer: 1 April to 31 October, daily from 08:00 – 20:00.
Exhibitions Ancient Rhodes – 2,400 Years” and “Rhodes from the 4th century AD until its conquest by the Turks (1522) is open from 09:00 – 17:00 and closed during the winter months.
Holidays
- 1 January: closed
- 25 March: closed
- 1 May: closed
- Easter Sunday: closed
- 25 December: closed
- 26 December: closed
Tickets
- Full: €8, Reduced: €4
- Special ticket package: Full: €10, Reduced: €5
Tickets are valid for
- Grand Masters’ Palace
- Archaeological Museum
- The church of Our Lady of the Castle
- The Decorative Arts
Free admission days
- 6 March (in memory of Melina Mercouri)
- 18 April (International Monuments Day)
- 18 May (International Museums Day)
- The last weekend of September annually (European Heritage Days)
- National Holidays
Contact information
- Address: Street of the Knights, Kleovoulou Square, Medieval Town, Rhodes 851 00, Greece
- Coordinates: 36°26′44.5″N, 28°13′26.8″E
- Telephone: +30 22413 65270
- Fax: +30 22410 21954
- Email: efadod@culture.gr
How To Get There?
The Palace of the Grand Master is located within the Medieval Old Rhodes Town. You can get there by bus, taxi, or your own vehicle.
