The castle
Pythion
Castle is built
on
a low
hill
at the western
limits
of
the Evros
River riparian zone, at a
distance of 15
km
from both Didymoteicho
and Adrianople. Founded
between
1330
and
1340 by
John VI
Catacuzenus,
it served as a
military fortress
and
personal refuge
during the
civil wars
of the 14th
century.
After
the
castle fell to
the
Ottomans,
a new
settlement
called
Kaleli
Burgas grew up
around it. The
village is the burial place of Patriarch
Cyril
VI, who was hanged during
the revolution.
The
fortifications included
a
large
external
wall,
parts of which
still stand among
the
modern
homes,
and a smaller
internal
enceinte.
Both
enclosures are
reinforced
by towers on
the outside,
as
well as by two
large,
square towers
of different
sizes
flanking
the
entrance
to the
interior
of the castle,
at the point where the two walls join.
The largest
tower stands three storeys tall, and has survived intact to a height of 17
metres. The floors are roofed over by four hemispherical domes, and are linked
via a staircase built inside the east wall. On the south side of the upper
floor a small exit led to the ramparts of the median wall. Surviving sections
indicate that there were originally two further floors, the first of which
projected and had machicolations for defence. The tower most probably
served as a residence for the castle owner, particularly on the third floor,
where there was a fireplace and a cupboard.
The smaller tower is almost square, slightly oblique and stands at a height of
20 metres, comprising four independent, single-roomed storeys with domed
vaults. Evidence points to the existence of a fifth floor, though this has not
survived. The ground floor is devoid of windows and was probably destined for
use as a prison. An opening in the floor of the second level gave access to the
ground floor via a wooden, probably portable ladder; the other floors were not
linked, each having independent access. This tower was exclusively intended for
military use.
Pithion Castle
combines
features of
western
forts,
which were the headquarters of feudal
lords, with defensive castles
aimed at controlling and protecting the
surrounding area. It is a
pioneering work
in Byzantine
fortifications,
and one which continues to impress
visitors to
this day,despite the fact that only a small part of its original bulk survives.
Glossary (1)
machicolations:
openings in walls or over fortified gates, through which hot oil or water was poured to repel attackers.
Information Texts (2)
The castle:
The Byzantine
castle
of
Didimotiho
crowns
a rocky
hill above
the mouth of
Erythropotamos
River in the Evros region. Founded a short
distance from Constantinople,
the castle occupied
a strategic
location as a staging post
on the Adrianople to Trajanopolis road.
The city
was
established in
Roman times
and
was repeatedly
modified
over
the course of
its
long history, particularly from Justinian
to
Palaeologan
times.
It became particularly
important from the 7th century on, playing a pivotal role in historical
developments, but did not reach its peak until the 14th
century, when members of the imperial court resided in the castle for lengthy
periods. It
was a favourite residence of Emperor
Andronicus III
Palaeologus,
partly on account of the exceptional
hunting
to be had in the
region.
Furthermore, it was the place where John VI
Cantacuzenus
was crowned
emperor
in 1342.
Fortified walls measuring 1800 metres in length
surround the core of the town
to the north,
south and east,
while
the
west is protected by the natural moat formed by the
Erythropotamos River.
The entire perimeter
of the walls
is punctuated by
round, square and horseshoe-shaped towers to reinforce the city's defences.
Several of
the towers
bear
the monogram
of
their
founder,
Michael
Ducas
Glavas Tarhaniotis,
who also founded
the monastery
of Pammakaristos
in
Constantinople,
and
sponsored
the frescoes
in the chapel
of Agios
Euthymios
in the famed Byzantine Church of Agios Demetrios
in Thessaloniki.
Access to the
interior
of the castle was originally gained via two main gates: the Kastroportes
to the east
and the double
gate
known as
Neroportes
to the west,
flanked by pentagonal Justinian
period towers.
Later
modifications saw the addition
of the Saraioportes
in
the
middle of north
wall,
a
large
cylindrical
tower
next to the
river,
and
the Pentazono,
a cistern that
secured the
city’s water supply.
Inside the
walls, surviving structures include the mid-14th
century Byzantine Church
of Saint
Catherine, and a
tomb
of finely hewn masonry
dating from the same period.
Adrianople:
City in western
Turkey. Inhabited by the Thracians, in the Roman period it became a centre for transport
and commerce, which it was to remain throughout the course of its history. Adrianople was renovated by the Emperor Hadrian, who gave
it his name; in Byzantine times it was renamed Orestiada. Following numerous
raids during the Crusades, in 1361 it was occupied by the Turkish Sultan Murad
I. Although it served as the capital of the Ottoman state up to 1453, Adrianople remained a largely Greek town until the Treaty
of Lausanne in 1923, when it was permanently granted to Turkey.
Bibliography (6)
1. Ευγενίδου Δ., Κάστρα Μακεδονίας και Θράκης, Βυζαντινή Καστροκτισία, Athens, 1997
2. Κορρές Μ., ‘Θολοδομικά ζητήματα στο φρούριον του Πυθίου’ in Θυμίαμα: τιμητικός τόμος στη μνήμη της Λασκαρίνας Μπούρα, Athens, 1994
3. Korres M., The Architecture of the Pythion Castle, 1989
4. Κορρές Μ., Μπακιρτζής Χαράλαμπος, ‘Το φρούριο του Πυθίου’ in Κοσμική μεσαιωνική αρχιτεκτονική στα Βαλκάνια 1300-1500, Thessaloniki, 1997
5. Μπρίκας Α., ‘Νεάπολις- Χριστούπολις – Καβάλα. Διορθώσεις- Προσθήκες – Παρατηρήσεις στην οχύρωση και την ύδρευση’ in Μέρος Α’, Μελέτες, 1998
6. Τσουρής Κ., Μπρίκας Α., Το φρούριο του Πυθίου και το έργο της αποκαταστάσεώς του. Προκαταρκτική ανακοίνωση, Καβάλα, 2002
Comments (0)