Byzantine Castle of Platamon: Between Mount Olympus and the Aegean Sea

One of the most beautiful castles in Greece, it was built in an exceptionally strategic location, after the Tempi pass and along the route leading to Macedonia, in the same area where the ancient city of Herakleion is believed to have once stood.

The Castle of Platamon consists of a polygonal wall with battlements and a wall-walk, reinforced by eight rectangular towers. The castle gate, located in the middle of the southern side, is formed by a system of double entrances beneath the shadow of a powerful tower. On the southwestern side, where the rocky terrain rises sharply, lies the acropolis, protected by a separate wall, with its octagonal tower rising to a height of more than 20 meters.

During the period of Latin rule, the castle was granted as a fief to the nobleman Roland Piscia by Boniface of Montferrat. In the 13th century, Byzantine authority was restored under Theodore Komnenos Doukas. In the 14th century it was captured by the Ottomans, while in the 15th century it was briefly occupied by the Venetians, and shortly afterward it passed permanently to the Ottomans, remaining under their reign until the 20th century and the liberation of Macedonia.