Krak des Chevaliers Castle (‏قلعة الحصن‎, Qal'at al-Husn)

The origins of the fortification date back to 1031, when the Emir of Homs had an initial structure, named Hisn al-Akrād, the Kurdish Castle, built on the mountain. In 1099, the army of the First Crusade under Raymond of Saint-Gilles briefly occupied the castle on its way to Jerusalem. After their departure, the castle fell back into Muslim hands. It was not until 1110 that the Norman commander Tancred of Tiberias succeeded in conquering Hisn al-Akrād. Through the marriage of his widow to Pons, the son of Bertrand of Saint-Gilles, the castle came into the possession of the County of Tripoli in 1112 and was administered by vassals. Since Count Raymond of Tripoli could no longer finance the garrison, he ceded the castle to the Knights Hospitaller in 1142. Following severe earthquakes in 1157 and 1170, the castle underwent extensive reconstruction starting in 1170. A mighty Crusader castle emerged, featuring a main tower, chapel, gatehouse, and a curtain wall with a surrounding hall. A unique feature was the moat on three sides of the hilltop castle. Sultan Saladin besieged the castle unsuccessfully for a month in 1188. After further earthquake damage around 1201/02, a massive expansion took place with reinforced towers, a talus for earthquake protection, and an outer enceinte wall. In the 13th century, the Hospitaller rule reached its peak, reflected in the representative hall building in the High Gothic style. In 1271, Sultan Baibars besieged the castle and captured it on April 8 after the capitulation of the Hospitallers. The damage was quickly repaired, and the fortress was used militarily until the early 19th century. In the late 19th century, locals settled in the complex, but these structures were removed during restoration by France in the 1920s. In 1947, France returned the castle to Syria.

The Krak des Chevaliers castle is located at an elevation of approximately 680 meters above sea level in Wadi Al-Nadara, near Talkalakh, in the Homs district of Syria.

The castle can be visited today and offers visitors deep insights into the architecture and history of the Crusader era.

• Baitokaike Temple (Ancient Structures), approx. 19.8 km away
• Crusader Castle of Arqa (Fortress), approx. 33.9 km away
• Ancient City of Amrit Necropolis (Ancient Structures), approx. 36.0 km away
• Ancient City of Amrit Stadium (Ancient Structures), approx. 36.5 km away