Koules

Koules is the landmark of Heraklion, the Venetian castle located in the city´s harbor. This fortress was built by Venetians in the early 13th century and they called it Castello a Mare or Rocca a Mare. There are stories that rebels were tortured in the dark rooms on the ground floor of the fortress. The construction of the fortress continued until the mid 16th century. Its walls are built of stone while the outer walls are up to 9 meters thick. Even though today only two entrances are used there were three originally. There was also a lighthouse tower and some rooms on the inside of the fortress were used as the quarters for soldiers and officers.