🏰 Krak des Chevaliers
Syria
About This Sacred Site
Krak des Chevaliers is widely regarded as the best-preserved and most important Crusader castle in the world. Built by the Knights Hospitaller beginning in 1142 CE, the fortress contains a Gothic chapel that was later converted to a mosque after the Mamluk conquest. T.E. Lawrence called it 'perhaps the best preserved and most wholly admirable castle in the world.' The massive concentric castle withstood numerous sieges and stands as a monument to the complex religious history of the Crusader period.
Key Facts
- •UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2006
- •Held by the Knights Hospitaller from 1142 to 1271 CE
- •T.E. Lawrence called it the finest castle in the world
- •The Gothic chapel was converted to a mosque after 1271
- •Could garrison up to 2,000 soldiers
Location
Coordinates: 34.7569, 36.2942
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