Greece - Platamon Castle

Platamon Castle is dating back to the middle Byzantine period (10th century AD). It is situated at the location of the ancient city of Heraclia. The name “Platamon” appears for the first time in an imperial order of 1198 but, most probably, there was already a Byzantine castle there, since the 10th century.

Following the fall of Constantinople during the 4th Crusade in 1204, Lombardian crusaders took over the land and built a castle on top of the remains of the old structure. The castle functioned as a strategic lookout point over the passage between Macedonia and southern Greece. Despite their efforts to retain control of the castle, it wasn’t long before the Byzantines took it over again. In 1218, the Komnenos, a Byzantine noble family, established dominion over the castle.

The Turks captured the castle in 1385 and paid much attention to its maintenance because they needed the castle to control the strategically important area. After a short break between 1425 and 1427, when the Venetians managed to conquer the castle, the Turks returned and stayed until the beginning of the 20th century.

During World War II, in April 1941, a unit of New Zealanders tried to defend Platamon but were forced to leave after the bombardment of the castle by the Germans.

The Castle of Platamon is located southeast of Mount Olympus near the village of Platamon. The landmark of the castle is the well-preserved octagonal tower with a height of 16 meters.