Kythnos, Kythnos, Cyclades,South Aegean
Castle of Kythnos
or Castle of Oria or Castle of Katakefalos
| Location: |
| North cap of Kythnos island, Cyclades |
| Region > Prefecture: |  |
| South Aegean Cyclades | |
| Municipality > Town: | |
| City of Kythnos • Kythnos | |
| Altitude: | |
| Elevation ≈ 220 m |
| Time of Construction | Origin | |
| Before 13th century | BYZANTINE  |
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| Castle Type | Condition | |
| Castle |
Rather Poor
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The castle was the medieval capital of the island of Kythnos fron 7th century AD until the end of the 16th century. Those days it was called "Castle of Thermia". Thermia was the name of Kythnos because of the hot springs in the island that were famous since the Roman era.
From 1207 the island and the castle belonged to the Italian family of Gozzadini who were subjects of the Venetian Duchy of Naxos. In 1537 the castle was destroyed by the Turkish pirate Barbarossa. It took some time for the capital to move to Messaria (or Chora). This happened in 1570, while the Venetian era finished in 1613.
| First entry in Kastrologos: | March 2013 |
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| Access |
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| Approach to the monument: |
| At a distance 3.5km of paved road and 800m of dirt road north of Loutra, there is a sign indicating the path to the castle (easy to loose). The path is not well marked but if you are lucky, after 30min trekking you will see the rock of the castle. |
| Entrance: |
| ? |
| Other castles around |
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| Agia Marina Tower |
| Monastery of Episkopi |