Fortress and the Byzantine Wall of Komotini

The largest and oldest monument of the town… It was built around the 4th AD century for financial and military reasons since from here Egnatia Str was passing. Emperor Theodosius I (379-395 AD) fenced the city of Komotini because it was considered as a point of strategic importance. The city was fortified by a wall built with stones for military-economic reasons and because Egnatia Street was passing from here. It had sixteen towers, twelve of them were rectangular and four of them circular on their corners. Its height reached to 9.60 m. It had two main entrances to the SW and SE side, and there were two smaller ones. Over the centuries and destruction of neighboring villages, thanks to the protection offered, it became an attraction for the people of the region. The wall remained intact until 1363. The Turks, during the invasion, destroyed a part of the castle and built mosques with its stones. The destructive work continued Bulgarians, who in 1910 demolished towers and a large section of the wall which was left. Today it remains a neglected monument, remembrance of the glorious past of the city.

 

Service Unit: 15th Ephorate of Prehistoric and Classical Antiquities Phone: +30 2531022411