Greece · 13th century
The Platamon Castle (Greek: Κάστρο του Πλαταμώνα), an important part of the history of Pieria, is a Crusader castle (built between 1204 and 1222) in Macedonia, Greece and is located southeast of Mount Olympus, in a strategic position which controls the exit of the Tempe valley, through which passes the main road connecting Macedonia with Thessaly and southern Greece. The tower (donjon), which overlooks the highway, is an imposing medieval fortress.
Important discoveries are the board of Hellenistic wall, that confirm the suggestion that on this position was the ancient Greek city Herakleion and the gate in the wall of the donjon. The core of the city Herakleion remains to be found, but it is posited that it is located on the northwest side of the castle's hill due to shells and coins found during recent excavations.
Text adapted from “Platamon Castle” on Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Platamon Castle ranks #1,220 of 9,079 worldwide in the atlas's castle fame ranking, and #25 of the 134 mapped in Greece. Founded 1204, it is older than 75% of the atlas's dated landmarks — one of 1080 atlas entries founded in the 13th century. Its Wikipedia articles were opened 5,422 times in the last 60 days, more than 87% of the atlas. The nearest day-trip guide is Thessaloniki, 76 km away. See how Greece compares in the castle statistics.
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