Kütahya Castle: Seventy Towers above the Old Town

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1. What is Kütahya Castle?
2. How do you get to Kütahya Castle?
3. When is the best time to visit Kütahya Castle?
4. What is the history of Kütahya Castle?
5. What is Kütahya Castle famous for?
6. What can you see at Kütahya Castle?
7. Frequently asked questions about Kütahya Castle
8. What do the official records say about Kütahya Castle?

What is Kütahya Castle?

Kütahya Castle (Kütahya Kalesi) crowns Hisar Tepesi, the hill that rises directly above the old town of Kütahya. According to the 2002 provincial inventory, the hill has been settled from antiquity to the present day, and the castle shows traces of Roman, Byzantine, Seljuk, Germiyanid and Ottoman work.

The castle has 70 towers and three parts: the upper citadel (Kale-i Bala), the lesser castle (Kale-i Sagir) and the outer walls. It carries no inscription from any period, so its building history has to be read from the masonry itself. The walls are now a viewpoint and a place for an evening walk, with the whole city and the Porsuk plain spread out below.

How do you get to Kütahya Castle?

The castle is above the old town, a steep walk up from the area around the Great Mosque and the Kütahya Tile Museum. Taxis can also take you up. The climb on foot passes through older residential streets, and combining it with Germiyan Street makes a good half-day walk.

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When is the best time to visit Kütahya Castle?

Late afternoon and sunset, when the light falls across the old town and the plain. Spring and early autumn are the most comfortable seasons for the climb; in summer avoid the midday heat, and in winter be careful on icy paths. The castle area is an open site, but take water and good shoes.

What is the history of Kütahya Castle?

Hisar Tepesi has been the natural strongpoint of Kütahya since ancient Cotyaeum. The city below was settled by the Phrygians in the Iron Age, passed to Alexander the Great in 334 BC and came under Rome in 133 BC, when it was known as Cotyaeum; it later became a bishopric. In the 14th century the castle was the citadel of the Germiyanid capital, and the city was briefly held by Timur after 1402. The Ottomans took the city permanently in 1428, and the inventory records that the last known building work on the castle was carried out in the reign of Mehmed the Conqueror (1451–1481).

The inventory notes that there are two fountains and two masjids inside the castle. After the Ottoman conquest Kütahya served as the seat of the province of Anatolia until 1827, and the castle overlooked one of the most important cities of western Anatolia. In the War of Independence the city was occupied by Greek forces in 1921 and retaken in 1922.

What is Kütahya Castle famous for?

• Seventy towers along its walls.
• The view over the old town, the tiled minarets and the plain.
• Layers of history, from Roman foundations to Ottoman repairs.

What can you see at Kütahya Castle?

The upper citadel (Kale-i Bala). The highest part of the fortress, with the best views.

The lesser castle (Kale-i Sagir) and stretches of the outer walls with their towers.

The fountains and masjids recorded inside the castle by the inventory.

The old town below. From the walls you can pick out the Great Mosque, the Vacidiye Madrasa (now the Archaeological Museum) and the domes of the Tile Museum.

Frequently asked questions about Kütahya Castle

What do the official records say about Kütahya Castle?

It stands on Hisar Tepesi, where there has been settlement from antiquity to the present day. Kütahya Castle, with 70 towers, consists of three parts: the Kale-i Bala, the Kale-i Sagir and the outer walls. In the castle, where traces of the Roman, Byzantine, Seljuk, Germiyan and Ottoman periods can be seen, there is no inscription belonging to any period. The last known construction in the castle was carried out in the time of Mehmed the Conqueror (1451–1481). There are two fountains and two masjids in the castle. (Ministry of Culture and Tourism, Kütahya Provincial Tourism Inventory, 2002)