Citadel of Acre
Introduction
The Citadel of Acre lies in the north-west corner of the old city and it was was built on the ruins of an old Crusaders Fortress. The path which bring visitors to this citadel goes through a garden, which is located inside the walls. To the right hand side of the garden was an auditorium which showed a documentary about the history of the city. The access to the auditorium was through a gift shop and a cannon ball on display in one corner of the gift shop.
History of Acre Citadel
The Hospitallers were a military order devoted to care for the sick in the Holy Land and they built this citadel. Acre’s Hospitaller quarter houses three main buildings: the headquarters (Knights’ Halls); St. John’s Church and the hospital south of the church.
Under Saladin’s command, the Muslim captured this city in 1187 but in 1191, following a two-year siege, King Richard the Lionheart took Acre back from the Muslims. The Hospitaller Order transferred its headquarters to Acre from Jerusalem once city was re-taken. The Battle of Acre resulted in the fall of the city to the Mamluks of Egypt on 18 May 1291.
The eastern entrance of the Turkish Citadel (also Crusaders Fortress) and this part of the citadel was built in the 18th century by the Ottomans. The English occupied this city on 23 September 1918 during World War I and converted the fortress to government buildings and the largest prison in Palestine (Holy Land). There is some pottery on display inside the Prison Hall of the Acre Citadel. Some of the items have come from the Abbasid and Umayyad period.
Crypt
In the Crypt there are a number of Crusaders tombstones on display. One of them belongs to Pierre De Vieille Brioude, who was the 18th Grandmaster of the Hospitallers Order from 1240-1244.
A small room inside the Acre Citadel showing a documentary about the history of the place. On the walls of the citadel, soldiers were projected and speakers were producing the sound as such the army was moving. In this projection a knight is seen on a horseback while common folks were following him . Possible a depiction that the Hospitallers Order were protecting the people.
In one area of the complex where shops were located and a guy was working with the glass to create different types of objects. This area was beautiful with small shops showing some of the old arts and how crafts were made. Also, there was a game made with a wooden plank, one has to hold and release the middle part in a way that it would fit the hole.
Knights' Dining Hall
The southern wall gives access to the upper area while on the lower area lies the entrance of the Knights’ Dining Hall. Few standards were placed inside the Column Hall (also known as the Pillard Hall or the Knights’ Dining Hall).
This is one of the most beautiful rooms in the complex with 10m high hall consists of a set of eight groin vaults. The ribbed vaulting made of stone, which supports the groin vault ceiling lean on capitals. The building reflects a combinations of the Romanesque and the Gothic style.
Courtyard
The main courtyard of the citadel covers an area of 1200m2 to the north of which a 4-meter deep water well. Above the courtyard is the north side of the Ottoman citadel and this wall was built adjacent to the city’s northern wall. Art work was on display in one of the room and it came from a gallery which was held here in October. The amazing this about this gallery was that it appeared to be 3D but in reality it wasn’t.
