Kato Chora Castle

The castle of Kato Chora oversees the western coast of Kythera in the Ionian Sea. The monumental gate reveals a whole settlement within the walls and nine temples. The gate is dominated by the winged Lion of the Serene Republic of St. Mark, the emblem of the Venetians, and 1565 is mentioned as the year of construction and repair of the fortress. However the castle is older. It is reported from the beginning of the 16th century and was reinforced by guards in 1545, after the destruction of the capital of the island, Agios Dimitrios (Paleochora) in 1537, by the Arch Admiral of the Ottoman fleet, Hayredin Barbarossa. It was considered the safest of the three fortresses of Kythera (the other two were Agios Dimitrios and Kapsali, which constituted the respective captaincies of the original administrative division, during Venetian rule.) It was a time of intense piracy activity in the region, especially from the 15th century onwards. A settlement was developed in the castle, mainly by the large families of the guards, who came from Crete, Cyprus and Monemvasia. The houses are two-storey, crowded in the scarce area of the castle, with characteristic chimneys and flower beds with stone-built corbels. On the ground floor there are auxiliary spaces such as “lanoi” (wine presses) and ovens. The upper floor was accessible only by an external staircase. The narrow alleys also reveal the numerous temples of the castle. They date back to the 16th - 17th centuries, they are covered with “cheloplakes” (local slate from the Ocheles area) and inside are decorated with remarkable frescoes. These are the following churches: Panagia Mesosporitissa, Prophet Elias, Agios Athanasios, Agioi Anargyroi, Agios Ioannis Prodromos, Agios Ioannis Chrysostomos, Metamorfosi and Agioi Pantes. The settlement of the castle was full of life, with 4 parishes during the 18th and 19th centuries. The population began to decline due to massive migratory flows and the settlement remained uninhabited by the 1950s. The locals still remember the last inhabitant of the castle, Mrs. Pavlou, who had a bakery at the downtown, and a small grocery-cafe called” Little London.” The castle is ideal for an afternoon tour, watching the sunset. The whole complex of the castle town has been declared a historical place of special protection since 1979.