The castle
From the 5th
century
BC on, the
city of Kavala
was surrounded by a protecting wall. This was repeatedly modified over time - according
to sources,
extensive modifications
and repairs were
carried out after the Roman
period by Emperor Julian between
361 and 363, then by
Justinian ,
and again in
926
by Basil Cladon, general of the Theme
of
Strymon. That being said,
the Byzantine wall probably owes its present form to Andronicus
II
Palaeologus,
who combined
the
fortifications with the
city's water supply,
following
the earlier
model
applied by Justinian to Anastasioupoli.
Τhe fortifications
appear
to have been rebuilt and modified
throughout
the Byzantine period,
with
a new external
defensive
wall
being added to the city’s defences in the 16th century; the
northeast
section of this is still standing.
Following the
lie
of the land, the defensive wall
girdled the
hill,
encompassing an area of 13
hectares.
The enclosure
was reinforced
by
round
and
square towers
and bastions,
mainly
on the most
vulnerable land side to the north.
The perimeter is closed off by a
transverse
wall
449
metres
in length,
which climbs
a steep
slope
to the most
inaccessible
cliffs
on the north
side
to
a height of
64
metres.
The wall had
four gates to
facilitate movement into and
out of the city.
As part
of the
rebuilding projects carried out
to reinforce
the city’s defences,
the citadel of
Byzantine
and Ottoman
times
was built on
the hilltop site of its ancient counterpart.
The irregularly shaped
citadel fortifications
include
the northern
part
of
the city’s defensive
walls, reinforced by two
square towers on each
of the
northwest
and
northeast
corners,
a
polygonal
tower on the
east side and
a
bastion on the southeast. The area
inside
the citadel
is divided in
two by a transverse
wall running northwest - southeast, crowned at the central, highest point
by a cylindrical
tower.
The city’s defences also
included a 1.5 km long wall, which written
sources attribute to Andronicus
II
Palaeologus,
between 1307
and1308. It
was built
on the
occasion of
an
unsuccessful
attempt
by the
Catalans
to
conquer
Kavala,
and was primarily used to control
the road leading
from Macedonia
to Thrace via the city.
This
cross fortification
began
on
the north
side
of the city
walls
and led
to the
opposite
hills,
interrupted only by the aqueduct. It ended in three square towers and one round
one.
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