Street of the Knights

The Street of the Knights (Odos Ippoton) is a narrow, straight cobbled lane in the Collachium of the Old Town of Rhodes, Greece, running downhill from the Palace of the Grand Master towards the Hospital of the Knights, which now houses the Archaeological Museum. It is among the best-preserved medieval streets in Europe. The Knights Hospitaller built the inns, known as auberges, on both sides in the 15th and early 16th centuries, as lodging and meeting houses for the knights of each langue, or language group, such as Provence, Auvergne, France, Italy, Spain, England and Germany. The facades are made of local limestone, with Gothic doorways, heraldic coats of arms, small windows and battlements. The Inn of France is among the most ornate, with its carved facade and a chapel, while the Inn of Spain and the Inn of Italy are also recognisable. At the lower end stands the Church of St John and the entrance toward the Hospital. The street is about 200 metres long and almost uniformly medieval in character, with few modern interruptions. Much of the present state results from Italian restoration in the 1930s, and individual buildings were repaired after the damage caused by the 1856 gunpowder explosion and by the Second World War. Several buildings now hold offices, such as the Inn of France, which hosts the French cultural institute and similar bodies, so interiors are generally closed to the public, and the experience is primarily outdoor. The street is free to walk at any time. The best approach is to walk it from the palace end downhill, reading the coats of arms and inscriptions, then to continue to the museum. The architecture is simple and austere rather than decorative, reflecting the function of the knights as a military and hospitaller order. At night the street is lit and quieter, which allows a different view of the facades. A walk along the full length takes only a few minutes, but photographers and history enthusiasts tend to spend half an hour or longer examining the details.