"The fortress of Agios Nikolaos is a single stronghold that occupies the northern tip of the homonymous pier. It includes consecutive reinforcements and expansions after the destructions it suffered from sieges, during which it acted as “a key to the defense of the city”. The last 15 years an integrated reconstruction intervention for the restoration and enhancement of the medieval fortress has been carried out, in order to render it safe to be visited, by taking the necessary safety measures for visitors. As part of the interventions, comprehensive interdisciplinary studies have been elaborated and related articles have been published, which may be consulted by those interested in gaining insight into this particular subject.
The medieval city of Rhodes grew with successive expansions of the 7th-century AD early Byzantine castle, around the rocky elevation of the ground and between the two central ancient ports, occupying the geographical center of the glorious –Hippodamian- Hellenistic city. A characteristic feature is considered the formation of the military port Mandraki and the complex of ancient dockyards that almost reached the north wall of the Byzantine acropolis –which later became the palace of the Grand Master, at the site of the present moat. The gradual opening and widening of the moat to the west and south during the Byzantine and Knights period was apparently combined with the methodical quarrying of living rock below the ancient city level. Evidence of quarrying can be seen scattered along the flanks of the moat, particularly on the rock surviving to this day north of the bastion of Hagios Georgios (Saint George), thus preserving important elements of the ancient city infrastructure.
Of particular interest is the development of the dockyards area and the area of the two, out of five, main ports of ancient Rhodes that remained in use during the medieval times. It should be noted that all three piers of these ports preserve remains of prior formation and apparently coincide with the respective ancient ones. It is worth emphasizing that the dynamic design of the ancient city’s Hippodamian urban planning network can be seen in the organization of the medieval settlement. Moreover, in the wider region remain to this day the main access routes to the settlement. Along the axes of these routes “moved” the gates of the walled parts of the settlement from antiquity to this day.
The aforementioned process of successive expansions of the Byzantine fortification walls towards the two ports was completed in 1464 with the construction of the fortress probably on the site of the homonymous church of Agios Nikolaos (Saint Nicholas), at the edge of the ancient pier on the peninsula. The outline of the northeastern part of the castle’s Byzantine fortification is not entirely clear, even though parts of Byzantine masonry are detected at the base of the subsequent fortification structures of the early Knights era in the area. Besides, it is a fact that the imposing foursquare tower of Naillac, which was built around 1400 at the edge of the homonymous pier but collapsed in 1863 after a destructive earthquake, was abutted on a marble sloping base made of an ancient construction material in second use.
Therefore, an initial attempt to fortify the pier that controls the two main ports is identified and it is the respective pier of the Byzantine castle – acropolis, when the construction of the very high main tower built for the fortification of the ports was completed by the Grand Master Naillac. The next Grand Master Antoni Fluvian is to be thanked for the construction of the initial Knights pier, which gave access to the first floor of the tower through the insertion of an arched structure, an independent spiral staircase and a wooden lift bridge. The early gate, which existed at the same period with the pier, linked Emporiko -the “grand harbor”- with Mandraki and the pier of Agios Nikolaos prior to the construction of the polygonal surrounding wall of the tower of Saint Paul the Apostle and before the modification of its original route after 1440.
The shape of the foursquare tower of Naillac answers perfectly the purpose of the war tactics that precede the widespread use of cannons after the introduction of gunpowder in warfare around the mid-15th century. Its base is protected by an also foursquare surrounding wall, on the eastern side of which survives the special formation for placing the chain that closed the entrance to the port."
SOURCE - (visit link)
"To froúrio tou Agíou Nikoláou eínai éna eniaío ochyró pou katalamvánei to vóreio ákro tis omónymis provlítas. Perilamvánei diadochikés enischýseis kai epektáseis metá tis katastrofés pou ypésti apó tis poliorkíes, katá tis opoíes enírgise os «kleidí gia tin yperáspisi tis pólis». Ta teleftaía 15 chrónia pragmatopoiíthike mia olokliroméni epémvasi anakataskevís gia tin apokatástasi kai anaváthmisi tou mesaionikoú frouríou, prokeiménou na katasteí asfalís i epískepsí tou, lamvánontas ta aparaítita métra asfaleías gia tous episképtes. Sto plaísio ton paremváseon échoun ekponitheí olokliroménes diepistimonikés melétes kai échoun dimosieftheí schetiká árthra, ta opoía boroún na symvoulefthoún ósoi endiaférontai na apoktísoun gnóseis se aftó to synkekriméno théma.
I mesaionikí póli tis Ródou afxíthike me diadochikés epektáseis tou próimou vyzantinoú kástrou tou 7ou aióna m.CH., gýro apó ti vrachódi ypsómetro tou edáfous kai anámesa sta dýo kentriká archaía limánia, katalamvánontas to geografikó kéntro tis éndoxis pólis - Ippodámiou-Ellinismoú. Charaktiristikó charaktiristikó eínai to schimatismó tou stratiotikoú limanioú Mandráki kai to synkrótima archaíon nafpigeíon pou éftase schedón sto vóreio toícho tis vyzantinís akrópolis - pou argótera égine to anáktoro tou Megálou Magístrou, sto chóro tis simerinís táfrou. To stadiakó ánoigma kai diévrynsi tis táfrou sta dytiká kai sta nótia katá ti diárkeia tis vyzantinís periódou kai ton ippotón syndyástike profanós me ti methodikí exóryxi zontanón vráchon káto apó to archaío epípedo tis pólis. Apódeixi ton latomeíon boreí na dei diásparta katá míkos ton plevrón tis táfrou, idiaítera sto vrácho pou epiviónei méchri símera vóreia tou promachóna tou Agíou Georgíou, diatiróntas étsi simantiká stoicheía tis archaías ypodomís tis pólis.
Idiaítero endiaféron parousiázei i anáptyxi tis periochís ton nafpigeíon kai i periochí ton dýo, apó ta pénte, kýria limánia tis archaías Ródou pou parémeinan se chrísi katá ti mesaionikí epochí. Tha prépei na simeiotheí óti kai oi treis provlítes aftón ton thyrón diatiroún ypoleímmata proigoúmenou schimatismoú kai profanós sympíptoun me tous antístoichous archaíous. Axízei na tonisteí óti o dynamikós schediasmós tou astikoú poleodomikoú schediasmoú tis archaías pólis boreí na faneí stin orgánosi tou mesaionikoú oikismoú. Epipléon, stin evrýteri periochí paraménoun méchri símera oi kýries odoí prósvasis ston oikismó. Katá míkos ton axónon aftón ton diadromón "metakínisan" tis pýles ton periteichisménon tmimáton tou oikismoú apó tin archaiótita méchri símera.
I proanafertheísa diadikasía diadochikón epektáseon ton vyzantinón teichón pros ta dýo limánia olokliróthike to 1464 me tin anégersi tou frouríou pithanótata sti thési tou omónymou naoú tou Agíou Nikoláou (ágios Nikólaos), stin ákri tis archaías provlítas chersónisos. To perígramma tou voreioanatolikoú tmímatos tis vyzantinís ochýrosis tou kástrou den eínai apolýtos safés, parólo pou tmímata vyzantinís toichopoiías entopízontai sti vási ton epakólouthon ochyromatikón domón tis epochís ton próimon ippotón stin periochí. Ektós aftoú, eínai gegonós óti o epivlitikós tetrágonos pýrgos Naillac, o opoíos chtístike gýro sta 1400 stin ákri tis omónymis provlítas allá katérrefse to 1863 metá apó katastreptikó seismó, katalígei se marmárini kekliméni vási apó archaío oikodomikó ylikó sti défteri chrísi.
Epoménos, prosdiorízetai mia archikí prospátheia na enischytheí i provlíta pou elénchei tis dýo kýries thýres kai eínai i antístoichi provlíta tou vyzantinoú kástrou - akrópoli, ótan olokliróthike i kataskeví tou polý megálou pýrgou pou chtístike gia tin ochýrosi ton limanión Megálo Dáskalo Naillac. O epómenos Megálos Dáskalos Antoni Fluvian prépei na efcharistitheí gia tin kataskeví tis archikís provlítas ton Ippotón, i opoía édose prósvasi ston próto órofo tou pýrgou méso tis topothétisis mias toxotís domís, mias anexártitis speiroeidoús skálas kai mias xýlinis géfyras anýpsosis. I próimi pýli, pou ypírche tin ídia período me tin provlíta, synédese to Emporikó - to "megálo limáni" - me to Mandráki kai tin provlíta tou Agíou Nikoláou prin apó tin kataskeví tou polygonikoú perimetrikoú teíchous tou pýrgou tou Agíou Pávlou tou Apostólou kai prin tin tropopoíisi tis archikís diadromís metá to 1440.
To schíma tou tetrágonou pýrgou Naillac apantá apólyta ston skopó ton polemikón taktikón pou proigoúntai tis ektetaménis chrísis ton kanónion metá tin eisagogí tis pyrítidas se pólemo gýro sta mésa tou 15ou aióna. I vási tou eínai prostatevméni apó éna tetrágono perivállonta toíchoma, stin anatolikí plevrá tou opoíou sózetai o eidikós schimatismós gia tin topothétisi tis alysídas pou ékleise tin eísodo sti thýra."
PIGI - (sýndesmos epískepsis)