Kastro-castle

The Castle, the old Castle-town of Skiathos. The Castle is the most important historical place on Skiathos. It is an hour's drive from the town, but the road stops a little way from the castle, so you will need to walk. It was the capital of Skiathos in the Middle Ages and it was founded around the middle of the 19th century when the Skiathans were forced to abandon the ancient town of Skiathos due to the continuous pirate raids, and moved towards the northern part of the island to build the Castle-town. Although, the raids of the Saracenes and other pirates had made the life of the residents unbearable, the castle was a safe refuge due to its natural entrenchment. This natural fort literally hangs over the sea as it is built on an imposing rock with a panoramic view. A very high wall with crenellations and canons, mainly facing towards the land, fortified the castle even more. Communication of the fort with land was made via a wooden drawbridge that connected the gate of the fort to the hill opposite. In cases of emergency, it was drawn inside the castle, thus preventing the entrance of the enemy. In front of the entrance, there was an archway and above a small tower and a terrace with crenellations and the scorcher. Inside the Castle the life of the residents was very difficult because apart from the pirates they also had to face the problem of a lack of space. Thus, the houses were small and built very close to each other. However, there were about 300 houses and more than 200 chapels, as well as a mosque without a minaret during Turkocracy.From its foundation to 1453 it was governed by Byzantium. Then, until 1538, by the Venetians (and also for a short period around 1660) and until 1821 by the Turks. With the foundation of the Independent Hellenic State, the Castle was completely abandoned, since the about 1500 residents went back down towards the sea and re-built the old town using materials from the castle, thus deserting the old city even quicker. Today, there are remains of some houses, 3 churches (Christ, Agia Marina, Agios Nikolaos), a part of the wall with the Gate, the terrace with the scorcher, the semi-demolished minaret and some ruins of the Turkish command centre. Also, 2 water tanks and the canon of Anagkia. Here at the Castle, battles against the Turks were fought that are described in a colorful way by Alexandros Papadiamantis in his novels.