Castle of Androusa #1064

Description

Guillaume II de Villehardouin, the king of the Principality of Achaea, constructed the fortress sometime after 1250.

Became the headquarters of the Navarrese Company in 1381. This group of mercenaries, primarily from Gascony and Navarre, fought in Greece in the late 14th and early 15th centuries amid the decline of Frankish authority in the waning Latin Empire.

The business was engaged to assist James of Baux in staking his claim to the Achaean crown. Despite their lack of success, they finally established themselves as the Pricipality of Achaea's de facto rulers, with Androusa serving as their capital.

The fortress was taken over by the Paleologi family in 1417, who were the Byzantine rulers of the Despotate of Mystras. The Turks took Androusa in 1462.