Gramvousa

Gramvousa, known in antiquity as Koryko and later by the Venetian name Garabuse, carries a fortress built between 1579 and 1584 on the island's highest point, 137 metres above the sea. The Venetians raised it to shield northeastern Crete, and it could hold some 3,000 men, yet it never saw serious Venetian combat. In 1692 the Turks simply bribed its commander, who retired contentedly to Constantinople. The fortress then passed to Cretan rebels in 1825, becoming the seat of the Revolutionary Committee. For three years it harboured over 3,000 fighters who, short of food, turned to piracy, earning the island a Europe-wide reputation as a pirate lair. This displeased the great powers, and in 1828 a combined force of English, French and mainland Greek troops captured it. In 1830, with Governor Kapodistrias's cooperation, the island was freed, though the London Protocol soon returned Crete, fort included, to Ottoman rule until the island's eventual liberation.