Mystras Overview

The ancient Byzantine town of Mystras may be an archaeological site today but stepping into the walled city transports visitors to another place in time, more specifically in the later decades of the Byzantine period, when it was the second most important town after Constantinople. An imposing fortress crowns its highest point, providing the most impressive views of the site, and connected to it through a descending series of staircases and arches, are seven medieval churches. The Pantanassa Monastery is still occupied today, a place where a few nuns remain, tending the garden and feeding feral cats, while the Peribleptos Monastery is home to rare, colorful frescoes. Strolling the smooth cobble steps, ducking into the ruins of the churches, palaces, monasteries, and simple homes, most dating from 1271 through 1460, it’s easy to imagine the comings and goings of the people who lived here so many centuries ago.

Just below the castle, a new village was constructed. While its square has hosted a few tavernas and cafes for years for those visiting the area, it’s recently become more developed, offering accommodation with an emphasis on wellness services for tourists. The surrounding landscape includes many walking trails that lead to various beautiful spots.

Mystras History in a Nutshell

Mystras was founded in the 13^th century following the conquest of Constantinople by the Crusades. After the separation of the Byzantine Empire, the Peloponnese, including Mystras, was granted to the Frankish Villehardouins family. A few years later, Frank Prince William Villehardouin had a fortress constructed on top of Mystras Mountain thanks to its strategic position, allowing him to control the valley of Eurota. A decade later in 1259, he was captured during battle by a Byzantine emperor who set him free in exchange for the castles in both Mystras and Monemvasia. Mystras Castle became the nucleus of the later Mystras castle-state, one of the most important cities in the late Byzantine period as the seat of the Despotate of Morea. By the middle of the 14^th century, it was the center for cultural and political life, in a period of decline for the Byzantine Empire.

The prosperity of Mystras reached its peak around the turn of the 15^th century – in 1400, Neoplatonist philosopher George Gemistos Plethon founded a philosophic school here. The last emperor of the Byzantine Empire, Constantinos Paleologos, ruled from 1443 to 1449. When the Turks conquered Constantinople in 1453, his younger brother Demetrius ultimately surrendered the castle to them. Mystras began to decline under Turkish rule – while the Venetians dominated for a while, the Turks took it back, with numerous efforts made by inhabitants to free the city of them to no avail. In 1825, Albanian Turks slaughtered the inhabitants and destroyed the area, which was abandoned before being set free a few years later, forming part of the first Greek state. After the new city of Sparta was built by King Otto nearby, Mystras experienced its final decline, with families primarily moving away to New Mystras and Sparta. After lying abandoned for decades, it became an archaeological site, and in 1989, its old town was listed as a UNESCO-protected site.