Skiathos Castle

On the "wild" northern coast of Skiathos, at the top of a steep cliff, lies the Kastro (Castle), the medieval capital of the island. The Skiathites settled here around 1360 AD, abandoning the ancient city (which was located roughly in the place of today's town) after successive pirate raids.

Coming here, the inhabitants of the island reinforced the naturally fortified position of the rocky peninsula with walls and in the limited space of 25 acres that they had at their disposal, they built 400 - 500 small and dark houses, 20 churches, while during the years of Ottoman rule, administrative buildings and a mosque were added. In its heyday, approximately 1500 souls lived in the narrow "plot" of the Castle.

With the liberation and incorporation of Skiathos into the new Greek State in 1830, the Castle was abandoned. Its inhabitants settled in the area of the modern city and built their houses with building materials from the old capital which was "deforested", hence the few, relatively, ruins that the visitor sees today. In recent years, works and interventions are in progress that aim to highlight the historicity of the place.

To get there, you will need to drive a little less than an hour, starting from the City of Skiathos. From the parking lot, calculate an additional 30, approximately, minutes of leisurely hiking. Walking among the ruins and the few surviving buildings, you may meet the "ghosts" of Papadiamantis' heroes, in whose work there are frequent references to the Castle. The only certainty is that you will take a "break" from the "cosmopolitanism" of the City and the beaches of the island.

Of course, if you definitely want to combine this excursion with a swim, next to the Castle is the small but beautiful homonymous beach, which, however, is exposed to the moods of the north wind!