Servia was an important city of Macedonia in the Byzantine period.

The castle included 3 parts: The Acropolis, the Upper-City and the Lower-City. Each part had its own fortification.

History

The fortifications at Servia were built either in the reign of Justinian or later, at the time of the Slavic invasions, i.e. sometime between the years 560 and 650. Most of the fortifications that are visible today are remains of a major reconstruction in the 10th and 11th centurty. The castle was also repaired later in the Paleologean period.

Structure, Fortification & Buildings

The fotrification consist of three successive enclosures. The outer wall, sections of which still stand, marked out the 7.5 hectares taken up by the lower city. The intermediary enclosure delimited the 2 hectares of the upper city; it was polygonal, reinforced with rectangular and polygonal towers and had at least one gate. The third and smallest enclosure ran around the 0.25 hectare occupied by the citadel, and had three small gates and a central gateway on the northwest side. This gate was flanked by two four-sided towers, of which the north one still stands to a height of about 18 metres, divided into a ground floor and three upper floors.

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