Manyas Castle

Manyas Castle, locally known as Manyas Kalesi, lies south of the village of Soğuksu, in the province of Balıkesir in Turkey.

Manyas Castle is Byzantine in origin. It crowns the top of a small mountain. It was called Poimanenon/Poemanemum after the ancient Greek town which had been situated beneath it. The Byzantines used the ruins of the Greek town as building material for their castle, as can be seen in the use of columns, pedestals and other spolia in the remaining ruins.

In 1204 the castle fell into the hands of Frankish forces from the Latin Empire. It was probably taken back by the Byzantines after the Battle of Poimanenon in 1223/1224 which was fought nearby. In that battle, John III Doukas Vatatzes, Emperor of Niceae, won a decisive victory over the 2 brothers, Alexios Laskaris and Isaac Laskaris who had marched against him with a Latin army because they contested his succession of their deceased father; Theodore I Laskaris.

By 1337 Manyas Castle had passed to the Ottomans. In the following centuries it probably was abandoned and fell to ruin.

What remains today are the ruins of several wall towers and curtain walls. Apparently very recently one of the towers has toppled and parts of it rolled down the mountain slope.

On a hill opposite the castle are the ruined remains of a small Ottoman mausoleum and mosque, dating back to the first part of the 14th century.

At present Manyas Castle can freely be visited. A nice castle ruin in a great natural location.

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