Guide of Eastern Macedonia & Thrace

The Castle of Kavala (or the Fortress as the locals use to call it) dominates over the rocky acropolis in the old quarter of Panaghia.
The first phase of the city’s fortification dates to the early 5th century BC, when the city was surrounded by walls built with granite boulders. Parts of this fortification wall have been uncovered to the east, north and west sides of the peninsula. In 1307, the emperor Andronicus II Paleologus (1282 – 1328 AD) extended the walls from the sea up to the top of the mountain creating the so-called “long wall” for the defence of the city against the incursions of the Catalans and the Ottomans. Two gates, a central cylindrical tower and remains of other towers probably come from the Byzantine fortification.
In the present acropolis of Kavala, constructed in the first quarter of the 15th century AD, are incorporated the ruins of the Byzantine acropolis of Christoupolis, which was destroyed in 1391. The acropolis is 65 m long and its width ranges from 17 to 60 m; it is built with local granite boulders, mixed with marble and tiles that are joined with plaster.
The acropolis consists of two parts that are divided by a transverse wall. The exterior enceinte includes three towers, two on the north corners and one on the east, a bastion and two entrance gates on the southeast corner. The gate of the northwest corner is not in use, while the main entrance of the castle lies exactly opposite. The interior area includes the water cistern, the storehouse of ammunition and food, later served as a prison, a building to the west side that probably served as the guards’ house and a central, freestanding circular tower 18 m high that was the last defensive point of the city.
The castle is still well-preserved and houses several cultural activities of the city.