The Hospitaller Fortress
The Fortress is built in the form of four wings surrounding
an open courtyard.
The north wing was built along the northern wall of the city,
making the Fortress an integral part of the defense of the
Walls of Acre and the main gate to the north. This
wing is made up of nine long and narrow halls: halls 1 – 6 served as
storerooms, halls 7 and 8 as a large reservoir into which the rainwater
from the roofs of the Fortress drained, and hall 9 served as a passageway
to the central courtyard from the north.
A spacious hall was built in the eastern wing, measuring 35 X
40 meters. The hall has a cruciform vaulted ceiling borne by square
columns, apertures facing the north and wide windows facing the west and
the south. It served as a conference and ceremonial hall for the knights
of the order.
In the south wing an elegant hall with a cruciform vaulted
ceiling was discovered, supported by three round columns with a
particularly large diameter. The hall is elegant, with decorations at the
bases of the columns that support the ceiling. Two openings face the
central courtyard: a door that opens to the east and wide windows facing
the south. This hall apparently served as the order’s dining room. Next to
it there is another hall, also in the south wing. This hall has not yet
been uncovered but it is reasonable to assume that it served as the
kitchen.
The north wing is a two-story wing and was used as a
dormitory for the warriors.
In the northern part of this hall public toilets were
discovered, also built in two levels, each of which contained some 30
toilet stalls. The stalls were drained by means of drainpipes installed in
the walls and leading to an underground collection room, which drained,
into a central municipal sewage conduit
The western dormitory wing and the southern dining room wing
were built in elegant gothic style, unlike the remaining wings and appear
to have been built at a later date.
The Southern Road
South of the Hospitaller Fortress a municipal road that
passed through the Hospitaller Quarter was uncovered. The road runs
southward from the northern city wall (which is called St. John’s Gate)
along the eastern wall of the quarter, and then continues westward,
passing between the fortress and the Church of St. John. At a distance of
some 50 meters the road turns southward in the direction of the Genoese
Quarter. A monumental stone gate was erected in this part of the road and
enable the Hospitallers to close off the road during emergencies.
An additional public road adjoins with the Southern Road and
runs eastward, towered the King’s Quarter. This street, which is some 10
meters wide, is paved with stone tablets. A row of shops were uncovered
along part of the road.
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