TheSaint Hilarion Castle lies on theKyrenia mountain range, inCyprus. This location provided the castle with command of the pass road fromKyrenia toNicosia. It is the best preserved ruin of the three former strongholds in the Kyrenia mountains, the other two beingKantara andBuffavento.

Saint Hilarion Castle
(Greek:Κάστρο του Αγίου Ιλαρίωνα) (Turkish:Saint Hilarion Kalesi)
Saint Hilarion Castle
Location within Cyprus
General information
Town or city	Kyrenia
Country	De jure Cyprus De facto
Coordinates	35°18′44″N33°16′51″E / 35.3123°N 33.2808°E /35.3123; 33.2808
Construction started	10th-century
Website
https://www.sthilarion.org/

The castle is not named afterSt. Hilarion, active in Palestine and Cyprus in the 4th century. It was named after an obscure saint, who is traditionally held to have fled to Cyprus after theArab conquest of the Holy Land and retired to the hilltop on which the castle was built for hermitage. An English traveller reported the preservation of his relics in the 14th century.^[1] It has been proposed that a monastery built in his name preceded the castle, which was built around it. However, this view is not supported by any substantial evidence.^[2]

Starting in the 11th century, the Byzantines began fortification. Saint Hilarion, together with the castles of Buffavento and Kantara, formed the defense of the island againstArab raids against the coast. Some sections were further upgraded under theLusignan dynasty, whose kings may have used it as a summer residence. During the rule of the Lusignans, the castle was the focus of afour-year struggle betweenHoly Roman EmperorFrederick II and RegentJohn of Ibelin (c. 1179–1236) for control over Cyprus.

Much of the castle was dismantled by the Venetians in the 15th century to reduce the cost ofgarrisons.^[3]

The castle has three divisions or wards. The lower and middle wards served economic purposes, while the upper ward housed the royal family. The lower ward had the stables and the living quarters for themen-at-arms. The Prince John tower sits on a cliff high above the lower castle.

The upper ward was surrounded by a 1.4 metre-thick Byzantine wall, made of rough masonry. The entrance is through a pointed arch built by the Lusignans. This was protected by a semicircular tower to the east. Within the ward is a courtyard, with twin peaks being situated to either side of it. To the north-east is an extremely ruined kitchen. To the west are the royal apartments, dated by various sources to the 13th or 14th centuries. Although mostly ruined today, this was a structure in the northeast-southwest axis, with a length of 25 m and width of 6 m. It has a basement containing a cistern and two floors. The ground floor has a height of 7 m and a pointedbarrel vault. The upper floor is known for its carved windows, one of which is dubbed the Queen's Window.^[4][1] These are placed on the western wall, which has a scenic view of the northern coast of Cyprus, especially the plains ofLapithos.^[5]

Two of the main characters in the 1958 historical novel,Exodus, byLeon Uris, spend a day walking around the castle ruins. Featured in the 1999 novel “Race of Scorpions” by Dorothy Dunnett.The Castle of Saint Hilarion appears in the 2009action-adventurevideo gameAssassin's Creed: Bloodlines, the 2015 novel "The Lost Treasure of the Templars" by James Becker, andDeath in Cyprus byM. M. Kaye. The castle is also featured in the 2016 crypto-thrillerThe Apocalypse Fire byDominic Selwood.^[6]

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  Saint Hilarion Castle, Cyprus
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  Saint Hilarion Castle
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  Swedish Cyprus Expedition on a visit to Saint Hilarion sometime in 1927-1931.

• Newman, Philip (1948),The Castle of St Hilarion, Nicosia: K Rustem & Brother
• Petre, James (2010),Crusader Castles of Cyprus: the Fortifications of Cyprus under the Lusignans 1191-1489(PDF) (Unpublished PhD thesis), University of Cardiff, retrieved28 March 2018