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The Palace of the Grand Masters

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Biebert
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4 out of 5
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Editor Pick

The Palace of the Grand Master

  • July 22, 2007
  • Rated 4 of 5 by MichaelJM from Nottingham, England
The Palace of the Grand Master

The Palace of the Grand Master is indeed an impressive building but don’t get too carried away as this is a modern building built to what is believed to be the earlier specification. It was re-constructed in the 1930s and despite its lack of real age it’s a building that’s well worth inspecting.

The Square Palace is built around a large courtyard and follows the outline of the modified 7th Century citadel. In the early 14th Century the Knights began their repair of the earlier fortress to make it the centre of their administration and fit for the residency of their Grand Master. However, the whole of the first floor collapsed in the middle of the 19th Century and all that remained of the original were the imposing towers of the outer wall – twin horseshoe-shaped towers baring the coat of arms of the Grand Master del Villeneuve (in power from 1319 – 46)

In 1937 restoration (I use the term advisedly) started with a need to make the building usable in the 20th Century. An imposing staircase dominates the entrance and most of the staterooms on the first floor have had mosaic floors laid. Although they look extremely impressive and are indeed lat Hellenistic, Roman, or Early Christian in origin they do not originate from anywhere in or on Rhodes. Most of them were painstakingly removed from building on Kos and catalogued and shipped to Rhodes before being installed in the “new” palace of the Grand Master. That does not make them any the less impressive, but we needed to remind ourselves that they might have been far better left in their original context. However, the damage done, they do look almost monumental in their present setting.

Throughout the building are some strange collections of furniture several, like the 16th Century choir stalls with their elaborate cherubic carvings, looking seriously out of place. Gigantic stone fireplaces are in keeping with the Palace’s earlier existence but the building’s dance hall can only be seen to have a usage post 1930s. There are some amazing light fitments around the Palace and each room has a great view across the central courtyard, the north side of which has a row of Greek statues. As with the mosaic floors these were imported from the “lesser island” of Kos, which has clearly been robbed of much of its heritage.

On the ground floor we gained access to the Palace’s basement museums which detail, through archaeological finds the history of Rhodes. We gave it lightening tour as to do it justice you firstly need to be a fairly keen historian but secondly need to have a great deal of time more than we had. The palace was just part of our day’s visit to Rhodes and we didn’t want to miss out on the rest of the town. We got a good flavour of things but the place is crammed with interesting artifacts.

From journal Roaming in Rhodes Old Town

Editor Pick

Grand Palaces and Temples

  • July 26, 2005
  • Rated 5 of 5 by GB from Devizes from Devizes, United Kingdom
Grand Palaces and Temples

The Old Town abounds with palaces and temples, the former providing accommodation for the governors and Grand Masters within this ancient city-state, whilst the temples forge back far deeper in time to when the Greeks worshipped their deities fervently. I detail below the three most frequently visited by the traveller.

If you enter via Freedom Gate, the first major sight to your left is that of the Temple of Aphrodite, now just a collection of foundations and low walls dating from the 3rd century BC. The temple was constructed long before the Old Town and is positioned between the Great Harbour (the commercial port) and the Military Harbour (Mandraki) in an east-west orientation. It was originally made with stucco-covered sandstone and was known as a prostyle-in-antis type temple. There was an Ionic-style colonnade along three sides of its cella, and it is generally thought that the statue of "Afrodite Pudico" in Rhodes museum was the original cult statue of the temple.

Close by on Plateia Argyrokastrou is the Armeria Palace, dating from the 14th century and one of the oldest buildings in the town. Built by Grand Master Roger de Pias, it was probably the first hospital to be built here, and it displays his escutcheon on the left side above the doorway. In later years, it was used as an armoury by the Turks, and today, it houses the Institute of History and Archaeology.

Of course, the main attraction is the Palace of the Grand Masters, a hugely fortified building dating from the 14th century and measuring 80m x 75m. The Turks ran it as a prison during their occupation, although, of course, it’s original function was as the seat of the Grand Masters of the Knight’s Order.

After the Turks left, it fell into virtual ruin and was totally destroyed by a vast explosion originating in the nearby St Johns Loggia in 1856, when lightning ignited some long-forgotten gunpowder in the cellars there.

It was rebuilt by the Italians and finished in 1940. It features superb mosaics from the Hellenistic and Roman eras that were shipped across from Kos, along with the impressive statues in the inner courtyard. It is reputedly built on the site of the Temple of Helios and is even rumoured to conceal the original location of the fabled Colossus.

Today, it is an awesome spectacle, hiding behind its gigantic walls and turrets that have resisted siege throughout its long, turbulent existence

From journal Rhodes Old Town - The Knights' Architectural Masterpiece

The Palace of the Grand Masters

  • August 31, 2003
  • Rated 4 of 5 by Biebert from Berwick, Nova Scotia
The Palace of the Knights (a.k.a. the Palace of the Grand Masters) is definitely a must see. Again, it has the perfect feel of a massive gothic castle. This served as the Knights' administrative center and was built on the site of the Acropolis of the 7th century Byzantine period. The palace was completely destroyed by an explosion in 1865 and it was rebuilt by the Italians. The beautiful mosaics you will see on the floor are from the Hellenistic and Roman periods and were brought in from the island of Kos. The straight road leading down to the port from the palace is the Street of the Knights and it was the main thorough fair 500 years ago. It is a cobblestone street that was built over an ancient path that led from the Acropolis down to the port. This is touted as the best preserved medieval street in Europe and it is a fascinating walk. It is also home to most of the Inns of the Knights. The Knights were divided into seven religious orders based on language and the Inns of these orders line the Street of the Knights. They are now government offices and not open to the public.

The Palaces also houses a wonderful museum, which is well worth a visit.

From journal Rhodes - a magical trip to the past

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