Nafplio - Bourtzi Castle

Today the coastal town of Nafplio is an important tourist destination. Founded in antiquity, the city became an important seaport in the Middle Ages under Frankish rule. Initially held by the de la Roche family following the Fourth Crusade, the territory later came under the control of the Republic of Venice.

In 1542, the city briefly fell under Turkish rule but was recaptured by the Venetians and served as the capital of the province of Morea under the name "Napoli di Romania" until 1715. During this period, the city was heavily fortified. In 1715, it was conquered by the Turks under Sultan Ahmed III, who perpetrated a massacre of the Greek civilian population and the Venetian soldiers.

During the Greek Revolution, Nafplio was besieged by Greek revolutionary forces for a year and finally captured in December 1822. From 1829 to 1834, Nafplio served as the capital of modern Greece following independence from the Ottoman Empire. In 1833, the city became the residence of Otto of Bavaria, who became King of Greece. In 1834, the royal court moved to Athens, which has been the Greek capital ever since.

Bourtzi is the name of an island off the coast of Nafplio, as well as the fortress located on it.

Initially a tower was built there for the Republic of Venice, which was subsequently expanded into a fortress. The Ottoman conquerors (1540) utilized the Venetian fortress and reinforced it. At the end of the 17th century—following the recapture of Nafplio from the Ottomans in 1696—the remainder of the fortress was constructed in its present form. The chain stretched from the fortress to the mainland to protect the harbor from enemy ships gave rise to Nafplio’s Italian name, *Porto della Catena* ("Chain Harbor").

In the second half of the 19th century, the fortress served as a prison for those sentenced to death and as the official residence of Nafplio’s executioner.