Platamonas (castle)

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Platamonas Castle

The castle of Platamonas ( Greek Κάστρο του Πλαταμόνα ) is the symbol of the village of Platamonas in the south of the Greek region of Central Macedonia and part of the history and archeology of Pieria .

location

The castle is located 31 kilometers south of Katerini , two kilometers north of Platamonas and 5.6 km southeast of the ancient Leibethra on a rock directly on the Aegean Sea .

history

Cannon in the castle complex

There has been evidence of settlement on the castle hill since the Bronze Age. The castle was built in the area of ​​the pre-Christian city of Herakleion (Ηράκλειον), which stretched from the top of the castle hill to its feet. Around 360 BC BC Skylax of Karyandar described the place as "the first Macedonian city behind the Pinios River ". The historian Titius Livius describes the location more precisely: “ Lying on a rock between Dion and Tembi.” The most popular north-south connection in the country ran along the hill.

In 430 BC The Athenians conquered the place in order to control the Thermean Gulf up to their possessions on the Chalkidiki . At the beginning of the 3rd century BC The city and the harbor that had been built in the meantime were destroyed. It is not exactly known by what or by whom. A short time later, the Romans conquered the region and, due to the strategic importance of the hill, built the Acropolis , the upper city, which was surrounded by a low wall. Few traces have survived from the time around the birth of Christ to the middle Byzantine epoch of the 10th century. The name Platamon for the immediate vicinity of the hill was first mentioned by Homer , who used this term to refer to a rock washed by the sea. In the 12th century the city of Platamon was described and the castle as such was first mentioned.

In 1204, during their conquest of Constantinople , Frankish knights founded the kingdom of Thessaloniki , which also included the castle of Platamon. They finally expanded the bulwark, but had to clear it again in 1217 to make way for the Comnenes , a Byzantine noble family. The further history of the place remained changeable and the castle found new masters again and again. The Ottomans came at the end of the 14th century and were replaced by the Venetians in 1425. They stayed until the 400-year rule of the Turks in Greece began.

The last fighting took place in World War II. New Zealand troops that were based there were bombed.

The castle

The castle at night

A footpath leads from the parking lot up to the gate of the castle. The current area of ​​the castle of Platamonas includes the city of Platamon and the actual castle. The extensive complex is laid out as a polygon and had defense towers at irregular intervals. At the foot of the hill, to the left and right of the headland that protrudes into the sea, there are two other smaller towers. Only the main tower in the western part of the castle, surrounded by its own wall, is preserved. This was the last place of retreat for the residents during fighting. Viewing is not possible.

The goal, which is narrow for strategic reasons, was easy to defend. The floor plans of churches, houses, a forge, a pottery and other buildings, as well as cisterns and cannons from the later Middle Ages have been preserved.

The defensive walls are 7.50 to 9.50 meters high and between 1.20 and 2 meters thick. Over the centuries, they have been increased, and the individual construction phases can still be partially recognized. Except for the destroyed upper part of the battlements in the east, they are well preserved. The wall is accessible in several places.

Originally the castle complex was surrounded by another, lower wall. In an emergency, it formed the first line of defense. Only the small church of Agia Paraskevi has survived. It is richly decorated and offers space for around 30 believers.

During the construction of a railway tunnel through the castle hill, further floor plans of buildings were discovered which are assigned to the historical city of Herakleion.

Todays use

Today the Acropolis serves as one of the venues for the Olympus Festival . Theater performances and concerts take place there in the open air with good acoustics.

literature

  • Katia Loverdou-Tsigarida: The Castle at Platamonas . Ed .: Greek Ministry of Culture and Tourism, Athens 2007, ISBN 978-960-214-605-7

Web links

Remarks

  1. ↑ Katia Loverdou-Tsigarida: The Castle at Platamonas . Ed .: Greek Ministry of Culture and Tourism, Athens 2007, page 12, ISBN 978-960-214-605-7
  2. ↑ Homer, Hymn 4 to Hermes. Retrieved February 27, 2018 .
  3. ↑ Katia Loverdou-Tsigarida: The Castle at Platamonas . Ed .: Greek Ministry of Culture and Tourism, Athens 2007, page 17, ISBN 978-960-214-605-7
  4. ↑ Greek Ministry of Culture and Sport, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Το Αρχαιολογικό Έργο στή Μακεδονία και Θράκη (The archaeological work in Macedonia and Thrace) Volume 11, 1997, page 241.

Coordinates: 40 ° 0 ′ 19 ″  N , 22 ° 35 ′ 54 ″  E