The Castle of Platamonas, a castle of Frankish domination, built in the fortified city of the Middle Byzantine period , southeast of Olympus, a short distance from the current town of Platamonas, in the position of a strategy that controls the road of Macedonia – Thessaly – South Greece.
It is the best preserved castle of northern central Greece, with its imposing central tower, which dominates the National Road.
In this castle we find the three main features of the medieval forts: the first enclosure, the second enclosure which forms the acropolis and the central tower. The spacious outer wall of the castle is polygonal in shape, reinforced by towers located at irregular intervals and maintained in good condition.
Its entrance is located on the southeastern side while on the same side there is a ruined pre-casting or perhaps a barbikan. The height of the walls reaches to the right of the entrance 9.5m. and left 7.5 m, while the thickness is between 1.2 and 2 m. Between the two gates of the main entrance there was an additional tower, now demolished. The second enclosure is 6-7m high. and on its northeastern corner there is an unusual tower with a square outer perimeter and a circular inner. This tower has a Byzantine-type ceramic vault.
On the northeast side rises the majestic central tower of the octagonal-shaped defense complex, 16m high. and 2 m thick, whose entrance was for safety reasons at a height of 3.45 m. from the ground floor, with access from a wooden staircase. It has semi-circular windows, one of which has two openings with a central decanter decorated with a cross, which may indicate dating in the period when the castle was repaired by the Byzantine Despotate of Epirus. The chapel of Agia Paraskevi (the only one of the 5 formerly there) was preserved in the castle area and was converted into a mosque during the Ottoman domination
Access : Access to the various areas of Pieria, Mount Pieria, Olympus, as well as selected accommodations, is fast and comfortable, whatever the prefecture’s point of reference.
Pieria has complete transport infrastructure, with a national highway, interstate and provincial road network, buses and railways.
Katerini is only 80 km away from Macedonia International Airport and 70 km from Thessaloniki, to which it is connected to the National Highway E75. The E75 crosses Pieria from north to south, allowing quick access to any of its seafront points and the continuation of the journey to Larissa and Athens.
opening hours: 02 May – 31 Oct Mon-Sun, 0800-2000 -01New -30 Apr Mo-Sun, 0830-1500 – GPS Coordinates , Decimal Deg : 40.00557 , 22.597884 Deg Min Sec : 40° 0′ 20,0520″N , 22° 35′ 52,3824″E
