Frangokastello, Castle in Sfakia, Crete, Greece

Frangokastello is a rectangular fortress on the southern coast of Crete, with four corner towers and thick stone walls overlooking the Libyan Sea. The complex sits directly above a broad sandy beach surrounded by water on three sides.

The Venetians built the castle in 1371–1374 as a garrison to impose order on the rebellious Sfakia region, deter pirates and protect Venetian nobles and their property. They named it the Castle of St. Nikitas after the nearby church, but locals called it Frangokastello, the Castle of the Franks, and the name stuck. Local lore holds that the Sfakians, led by six Patsos brothers, tore down each night what was built by day until troops were sent and the brothers were hanged. Restored in 1593 under the commander Nicolo Dona, the castle was later abandoned.

Locals call it Frangokastello, which means Castle of the Franks, after rejecting the original Venetian name of Castle of St. Nikitas. This shows how the community made the fortress their own through naming.

The castle stands on a low peninsula with the sandy beach directly below it; the lagoon west of the beach serves as a natural harbour for fishing boats. About 500 m east, Orthi Ammos beach is reached by a staircase between the dunes at the end of an unpaved coastal path. Its shore drops faster and naturism is common there.

The Drosoulites are linked to the battle of 18 May 1828, when Hatzimichalis Dalianis and 385 of his men were killed after the Turks took the castle. Local tradition holds that their shadows return at dawn around the anniversary, from late May to early June, and the effect has been explained as a meteorological phenomenon of the Frangokastello plain.