Castle of Pythio

The castle at Pythio, known as Empythion in Byzantine times, stands on a low mound at the north-eastern edge of the village, close to the Evros river and the Turkish border. It is one of the finest surviving examples of military architecture in Greece, famed for its supposedly impregnable walls. John Kantakouzenos, later emperor, founded it around 1330-1340, using it as a residence and stronghold during his civil war against John III Palaiologus. Byzantine control was brief: it was among the first forts taken by the Turks upon their entry into Europe. A village grew around it, and in 1821 Patriarch Kyrilos VI, executed by the Turks at Adrianople, was buried here.

The central tower, square and imposing, dates from 1331 and still stands, closely resembling towers at Paleapolis, Adrianoupolis and near Constantinople. A smaller, later tower and the wall between them form the arched gateway to the courtyard. The second tower had three floors, reached by stairways from the main tower's courtyard. A third tower may have stood on the northern boundary, severed by a railway line and road. Part of the outer fortification remains visible in the modern settlement.

Heritage data from Wikidata, compiled and verified in the Atika atlas.