14th century
Timeline
1300 – 1302
Construction of the castle by Giovanni Orsini, Count of Kefalonia and Zakynthos, in order to protect Lefkada from enemy raids.
1331
Gautier II, Count of Brienne and Lecce occupies the castle with 800 knights, at the behest of Roberto, King of Naples.
1362
The Kingdom of Naples cedes Lefkada to Leonardo I, a member of the Florentine House of Tocchi.
1390
Carlo I, son of Leonardo I, extends the castle walls.
15th century
1479
An expeditionary corps of 5,000 Ottoman soldiers besieges and conquers the castle.
16th century
1502
Admiral Pesaro, Commander of the Venetian fleet, overcomes the resistance of the castle’s Ottoman garrison and raises the flag of the Most Serene Republic of Venice, for the first time.
1503
The peace treaty, signed in Constantinople between the Ottoman Empire and the Most Serene Republic of Venice, stipulates the immediate surrender of Lefkada and its castle to the Ottomans.
1564 – 1565
The Ottomans build a 4,500 meters long aqueduct to transport drinking water from Lefkada to the castle.
1572 – 1574
A stronger fort with cylindrical bastions and a wet moat is built around the existing castle, by decision of Sultan Selim II.
17th century
1684
Major General Morosini reconquers the castle on behalf of the Venetian Republic.
1685
The Venetians move the island’s capital from the castle to Amaxiki, present location of the city of Lefkada.
18th century
1715
The Most Serene Republic of Venice removes its troops from the castle to strengthen the fortress of Corfu, so the Ottomans invade it without resistance.
1716
The castle’s small Ottoman garrison flees when the Venetian fleet, led by Admiral Pisani, arrives outside its sea walls and the Venetians become masters of the castle for the second time.
1718 – 1725
The German General Schulenburg reinforces the castle’s defense by widening the walls and adding two new bastions to its eastern side.
1797
The Venetians are defeated by the French Republican army led by Napoleon Bonaparte and are obliged to relinquish Lefkada and its castle, in accordance with the Treaty of Campo Formio.
1798
Russia and the Ottoman Empire declare war on France and send their fleet to the Ionian Sea aiming to occupy the castle of Agia Mavra. The French Commandant Mialet, in the absence of supplies, surrenders the castle to the Russian Vice-Admiral Ushakov and the Turkish Vice-Admiral Kadir Bey.
19th century
1800
Lefkada and its castle become part of the Septinsular Republic, a federal state composed of the islands in the Ionian Sea, founded by the coalition of Russia and the Ottoman Empire, which had its own constitution and flag.
1807
The Septinsular Republic falls under the jurisdiction of the French Emperor Napoleon I, who decides to strengthen Lefkada militarily by sending Baron Donzelot to perfect the castle’s fortification and add new military equipment.
1810
French Commandant Camus surrenders the castle to the Commander of the English expeditionary corps, General Oswald, following an eight-day siege.
1815
Lefkada is incorporated into the newly created United State of the Ionian Islands, and its flag is raised in the castle of Agia Mavra.
1861
The reflector lamp lighthouse is built at the top of the bastion of Pantokrator.
1864
The British leave the Ionian Islands, and Lefkada with its castle is integrated into the Greek territory.
20th century
1912 – 1913
During the First Balkan War, the alliance of Greece, Bulgaria, Serbia, and Montenegro uses the castle as a prison for the incarceration of Turkish soldiers captured on the battlefield.
1922 – 1932
5,000 refugees from Asia Minor and Thrace reside in the castle.
1938
The building materials of the castle’s buildings are auctioned, and the proceeds go to the Army Equity Fund.
1941 – 1944
The castle is used as a military camp by German and Italian troops throughout World War II.