Subcategory Castles – Bridges 

The Bridge of Karytaina

Description

The bridge of Karytaina was constructed to connect the two banks of the Alpheios River, at a strategic location near the fortified settlement from which it takes its name. It represented a significant technological achievement of Byzantine Peloponnese and shaped the region’s transport landscape for centuries. According to a widespread Balkan motif associated with the construction of major architectural works, the wife of the local Frankish lord of Karytaina, Geoffrey de Bruyère, is said to have sacrificed herself so that the bridge would stand firm. In the mid‑15th century, the bridge was rebuilt on the initiative of Manuel Raoul Melikes, serving as the connection between the Castle of Karytaina and the regions of Arcadia, Messenia, and Elia—an axis of critical importance for the movement of people, goods, and troops. One of the bridge’s foundations incorporates a small chapel dedicated to the Nativity of the Theotokos. During the Ottoman period, clashes between Ottomans and Peloponnesians took place at the bridge, while during the War of Independence it was used strategically by the Greek insurgents due to its commanding position.

Accompanying text
Kolokotronis recounts that on the 25th of the month, as he departed from Skala and reached the mountain pass of Leontari, he encountered a messenger sent by Vasilis Boutounas of Karytaina. The message informed him that the Turks of Karytaina, together with the voivode of Himelaki, Mustafa Riziotis, had taken refuge in the old castle of Karytaina. Two local notables, Spilios Koulas and Michalis—who had not been initiated into the revolutionary society and were unaware of the unfolding events—had urged the Turks not to flee but to remain within the fortress, while the inhabitants of the Karytaina plain refused to take up arms. As Kolokotronis notes, “The Turks of Karytaina and the voivode of Himelaki, Mustafa Riziotis, had shut themselves inside the old castle of Karytaina,” and, upon receiving this information, he issued an order bearing his seal, declaring that any village unwilling to heed the call of the homeland would face severe punishment: “I issued an order and set my seal: any village that would not follow the voice of the Homeland—axe and fire.” This account is preserved in the Memoirs of Theodoros Kolokotronis (Narration of the Events of the Greek Nation from 1770 to 1836, dictated by Theodoros Konstantinou Kolokotronis, printed by Ch. Nikolaïdou Philadelpheos, Athens, 1846, pp. 55).