Κάστρο

One of her most interesting excursions Skiathos is in Κάστρο. Twenty minutes drive from the city and ten minutes on foot, traveling through a dense and magical vegetation, you reach the other end of the island, a quick passage from modern civilization to the world of the Middle Ages!

The Castle was founded in 1350 AD. when due to piracy, the Skiathos left the Byzantine city, which was where the city of Skiathos is today, and built the medieval settlement of Kastro, at the northern end of the island.

The Castle was more natural fortress rather than an artificial fortress. For this reason, on all three sides towards the sea, it is surrounded by a weaker wall, while at the point where it joins the mainland, stronger walls were built, the gate with the scalpel and the tower with a cannon. The entrance to the settlement was possible only with the movable wooden bridge, which connected the two ends of the walls. A deep trench had been carved under the bridge. Every night, except in exceptional cases, the gatekeepers would pull the bridge in, blocking the entry of all would-be intruders.

Inside the castle 400 houses were suffocatingly built next to each other, while the population ranged from 500 to 1500 people. There were still about 20 churches, water tanks, cisterns, baths and the Chancellery, seat of the Venetian governor.

The Castle was under Byzantine rule from 1360 until the fall. In 1453 it was taken under their protection by the Venetians, in 1538 it was occupied by Kapudan Pasha of the Turkish fleet Haireddin Barbarossa and remained under Turkish occupation until 1821.

In 1829 the Skiathians left the castle and returned to old byzantine city, the current city of Skiathos. When they left, however, they did not take only their household. They removed from the houses and other buildings, whatever building materials they could use again, such as frames, windows, doors, roofs, timber. For this Castle was deserted abruptly.

Of the approximately 20 churches and five hundred houses, the two parish churches survive today, the Church of the Nativity and Saint Nicholas, two others were renovated, of Agios Vassilios and Agia Marina, the Glass of the Turkish Command, the tank drinking water at the entrance and the cistern rainwater in Christ, the gate with scalding and walls around the Castle, while in good condition are loopholes low at the northern tip of the peninsula.

The protagonist in the ruined Castle is the church of the Nativity of Christ, a one-room basilica of the XNUMXth century with a wooden roof and Byzantine tiles. The interior of the church is evocative, it takes you to other times and you look around, maybe you see Papadiamantis praying - the "poor monk" in his stories has made many references to the Castle and the church of Christ. Paved floor with pebble borders, an ornate iconostasis, the low gilded one, and the upper one decorated with vines and plant decoration. The moving icons of the church have been transferred for safety to other churches, but this does not seem to be the case because the church is full of Cretan style hagiographies with impressive representations that have been preserved in good condition.