KERKYRA ( CORFU )

KERKYRA ( Corfu )

           

Pontikonisi

 

The statue of Achilles

The Garden of Palaia Anactora ( Old Palace )

Corfu (Kérkyra), is a Greek island in the Ionian Sea.Corfu is home to the Ionian University.

The island's history is laden with battles and conquests. Two castles enclose its capital, which is the only city in Greece to be surrounded in such a way. As a result, Corfu's capital has been officially declared a Kastropolis ("castle city") by the Greek government. From medieval times and into the 17th century, the island was recognised as a bulwark of the European States against the Ottoman Empire and became one of the most fortified places in Europe.The fortifications of the island were used by the Venetians to defend against Ottoman intrusion into the Adriatic. Corfu repulsed several Turkish  sieges, before falling under British rule following the Napoleonic Wars. Corfu was eventually ceded by the British Empire and unification with Modern Greece was concluded in 1864 under the Treaty of London .

In 2007, the city's old city was designated for the UNESCO World Heritage List. You can see the Old Citadel, the St George's Church, the winged Lion of St Mark, the Maitland Monument, the Old Palaces and much more. You can also visit Pontikonisi. Empress  of Austria Elisabeth of Bavaria, also known as Sissi, built a summer palace in the region of Gastouri , with the powerful mythical hero Achilles as its central .

The palace, with the neoclassical  Greek statues that surround it, is a monument to platonic romanticism as well as escapisme. It was named Achilleion. The structure is filled with paintings and statues of Achilles, both in the main hall and in the gardens, depicting the scenes of the Trojan War.The Imperial gardens on the hill look over the surrounding green hill crests and valleys and the Ionian Sea. 

Corfu is a very popular tourist destination. The island was the location of the 1994 European Union Summit.

1. Kerkyra is called................
a. Corfu
b. Pontikonisi
c. Palace
d. Lindos

2. Kerkyra is an island in the ..............
a. Ionian Sea
b. Aegean Sea
c. Maditerranean Sea
d. Thermaikos Gulf

3. Achilleion was built by Elisabeth of.................
a. England
b. Bavaria
c. Rome
d. France