In this place the prince of Achaia, William of Villehardouin, erected a fortress in 1249, and new buildings and whole quarters started sprouting round it one after the other. Gradually all this turned into a picturesque town, amphitheatrically situated round the fortress. Later Mystras was re-conquered by the Byzantines, then occupied by the Turks and finally – by the Venetians. In 1832 the city was abandoned, leaving only the breathtaking medieval ruins, standing in a beautiful landscape. The view of this ghostly town is so striking that it has been called the 'wonder of the Morea'.