Karytaina or
Karitaina is a village and a community in
Arcadia,
Greece. Karytaina is situated on a hill on the right bank of the river
Alpheios, near its confluence with the
Lousios. The village dates back to the
Middle Ages, but its history is unknown before the
Crusader conquest ca. 1205. Karytaina became the seat of a
barony under the
Frankish Principality of Achaea, and the Castle of Karytaina was built in the mid-13th century on a steep rocky outcrop by Baron
Geoffrey of Briel. The area returned to
Byzantine control in 1320, and came under
Ottoman control in 1460. After a brief period of
Venetian rule (1687–1715), Karytaina returned to Ottoman control, and prospered as an administrative and commercial centre. Karytaina and its inhabitants were among the first to rise up during the
Greek War of Independence of 1821–29. Today Karytaina is a protected traditional settlement and has, alongside the remains of its Frankish castle, several other medieval and Ottoman monuments.