Kolossi castle

The Kolossi castle is an ancient crusader castle located 10km west of Limassol, next to the Kolossi village. The main structure of the castle has a cubical shape with sides 16m long and is well preserved, i.e the central "cube" is intact and only the buildings below it are damaged. Initially built by the knights hospitaller in 1210, it became their headquarter in 1291. In 1426 the castle was destroyed by the Mameluks, then rebuilt in 1454 in its present shape. The castle contained a large factory for the production of sugar from the local sugarcane, one of Cyprus main exports in the period.