Jaap van 't Veen's photos with the keyword: Kastoria

The Church of Agios Georgios (Saint George) is located 20km southwest of the city of Kastoria, in the mountainous village Omorfokklesia. The church is one of the most popular Byzantine monuments of Macedonia. From this church the village also took its name, which was initially called Kallista or Ghalista (“kallisti” in Greek means “the most beautiful”). The cruciform church with a narthex is estimated to be built in 11th century. Its interior decoration has plenty frescoes dated in 13th century whereas its exterior frescoes are dated in the early of 14th century. The Church of Agios Georgios is most known for its wooden statue of St. George – wearing the traditional greek skirt “foustanella” – dating back to the 13th century. This oversized historical and cultural value picture is about 3 meters tall and is considered miraculous (PiP5). According to tradition some nuns were trying to carry this sculpture with a stretcher from Konstantinoupolis. As they were passing by the place that the church is nowadays located the stretcher stopped moving against their willing. Then the nuns thought it was St. George’s desire to be there and they decided to built a church to honor his name. Every year thousands of believers visit the church during St. George’s celebration day to pray and stick their coin on the glyph. Once the coin sticks means that the believer has a strong faith and his/her prayers may come true.

The Tsouka waterfall is the only waterfall that has been created by the Stenorema brook, whose waters flow into the Aliakmon River. The waterfall - also called Agia Anna waterfall - is about 20 meters high and has a pond at its base. It is the largest of the regional unit of Kastoria. We wanted to visit the waterfall from the Zoodochos Pigi church, which stands on the top of the cliff. Unfortunately, the path was closed due to restoration works on the church.

The monastery Panagia Mavriotissa was founded in 1082/83 by Byzantine Emperor Alexios I Komnenos to commemorate the victory over the Normans and the recapture of Kastoria. It is referred to in documents dating back to the 13th century as the monastery of Panagia Mesonisiotissa (= in the middle of the island). In the second half of the 17th century the name changed to Panagia Mavriotissa, because the inhabitants of the village of Mavrovo (nowadays ‘Mavrochori’) ensured that it remained in good condition. The monastery played an important role in the history of the area, but remained closed for many years. It was reopened in 1998. Only a few buildings from the original monastery have survived. The church has a spacious narthex on the west side, which was added later. The interior is decorated with murals dating from the beginning of the 13th century. The icons on the outside date from the period 1259 - 1264. The murals and drawings were damaged - all eyes of saints were removed - during Ottoman period. Some of these old frescoes were restored in the 13th century, while the outer wall of the narthex was decorated with new ones.

Kastoria is well-known for its churches. It is also calles “city of 100 churches”. The amount of Byzantine and post-Byzantine churches proves the richness of the city through the different ages. Kastoria originally had 72 Byzantine and medieval churches, of which 54 have survived. Some of them have been restored and provide useful insight into trends in late Byzantine styles of architecture and fresco painting. Many of the churches are small structures, as they were built as private churches by wealthy fur traders or the katholika of small monasteries. They are either aisleless churches or three-aisled basilicas. Their façades often show rich masonry with decorative letters, geometrical patterns, bands of dentils and occasional sun motifs. The churches also have outstanding fresco decorations with diverse iconographic programmes, showing their donors’ and painters’.

In Ottoman times, Kastoria attracted a mass of people from all over the Balkans and beyond, resulting in a diverse, multi-ethnic community. The different ethnic communities, Bulgarian, Turkish, Greek and Jewish, were centred around separate neighbourhoods or 'quarters'. Two old lakeside Greek neighbourhoods "Doltso" and "Apozari" are among the best-preserved and last remaining traditional quarters of the city. Especially “Doltso” - with its cobbled alleys and streets - is characterised by historic traditional mansions so called archontika - and houses, built between the 17th and 19th centuries by wealthy Kastorian furriers. During this time, the processing and exporting of animal furs created wealth in Kastoria. Some of these mansions nowadays houses museums and hotels.

Kastoria is partly built on a narrow peninsula jutting into Lake Orestiada at an altitude of about 620 meters. The small city is tucked away in the mountains of Macedonia. The place was first mentioned in the 1st century AD of a town near a lake called Celerum, a town which was captured by the Romans during their war against Phillip V of Macedonoa in 200 BC. The name Kastoria was first referred to in the late 10th century, when it was held by Bulgaria during the Byzantine-Bulgarian wars. Most probably Kastoria derives from the Greek word kástoras , meaning beaver. Trade in the fur was traditionally an important element of Kastoria’s economy. The trade in beaver skins, which began over a thousand years ago, gave rise to the town’s chief industry. When the beavers from the lake ran out, the town imported furs. Nowadays the fur trade has almost stopped. Kastoria is well known for its many Byzantine churches and monasteries. From the 72 Byzantine and medieval churches there are still more than fifty in and around the city. Many of them have frescoes that are in very good shape. One of the most beautiful and interesting is Monastery Panagia Mavriotissa, located on the shores of Lake Orestiada. Lake Orestiada (or Lake Kastoria), the promenade and forests offer a perfect shelter for all kind of bird species. The lake is home for 200 different species, among them some rare and endangered ones. The most typical species are cormorants, pelicans, herons, swans, wild ducks and herons. Lake and surrounding wetlands also house frogs and Greek turtles.

Kastoria is partly built on a narrow peninsula jutting into Lake Orestiada at an altitude of about 630 meters. The small city is tucked away in the mountains of Macedonia. The place was first mentioned in the 1st century AD as Celerum, a town which was captured by the Romans during their war against Phillip V of Macedon in 200 BC. The name Kastoria was first referred to in the late 10th century, when it was held by Bulgaria during the Byzantine-Bulgarian wars. Most probably Kastoria derives from the Greek word kástoras , meaning beaver. Trade in the fur was traditionally an important element of Kastoria’s economy. The trade in beaver skins, which began over a thousand years ago, gave rise to the towns chief industry. When the beavers from the lake ran out, the town imported furs. Nowadays Kastoria still is an (international) center for the fur trade and offers many fur and leather shops/showrooms. Kastoria is well known for its many churches and monasteries. From the 72 Byzantine and medieval churches there are still 52 in and around the city. Many of them have frescoes that are in very good shape. One of the most beautiful and interesting is Monastery Panagia Mavriotissa ( www.ipernity.com/doc/294067/47511956 ), located on the shores of Lake Orestiada. Lake Orestiada (or Lake Kastroria), the promenade and forests offer a perfect shelter for all kind of bird species. The lake is home for 200 different species, among them some rare and endangered ones. The most typical species are cormorants, pelicans, herons, swans, wild ducks and herons. Lake and surrounding wetlands also house frogs and Greek turtles.

The monastery Panagia Mavriotissa was founded in 1082/83 by Byzantine Emperor Alexios I Komnenos to commemorate the victory over the Normans and the recapture of Kastoria. It is referred to in documents dating back to the 13th century as the monastery of Panagia Mesonisiotissa (= in the middle of the island). In the second half of the 17th century the name changed to Panagia Mavriotissa, because the inhabitants of the village of Mavrovo (nowadays ‘Mavrochori’) ensured that it remained in good condition. The monastery played an important role in the history of the area, but remained closed for many years. It was reopened in 1998. Only a few buildings from the original monastery have survived. The church has a spacious narthex on the west side, which was added later. The interior is decorated with murals dating from the beginning of the 13th century. The icons on the outside date from the period 1259 - 1264. The murals and drawings were damaged - all eyes of saints were removed - during Ottoman period. Some of these old frescoes were restored in the 13th century, while the outer wall of the narthex was decorated with new ones. Pangia Mavriotissa is located at a beautiful location with very old platanus trees, at the banks of Lake Orestiada, at a distance of four kilometers from Kastoria ( www.ipernity.com/doc/294067/47608732 ) and opposite the village Mavrochori. The monastery is dedicated to the Dormition of the Virgin. A chapel dedicated to John the Theologian, with wall-paintings executed in 1552 was erected beside it in the 16th century.

The Ecomuseum in Dispilio feautures a ‘replica’ of a prehistoric lakeside settlement, located right besides the archaeological site where true signs of the neolithic era were discovered. The lake settlement - dating back to 5500 BC - was discovered during the dry winter of 1932, which lowered the level of the water in Lake Orestiada and revealed traces of the settlement. The prehistoric settlement of Dispilio is one of the oldest lake settlements ever discovered in Europe. The settlement’s inhabitants used to live in huts they built on the lake on pile platforms. The 3.000 people, living there, were fishing, hunting, cultivating the earth, stockbreeding, constructing tools and utensils. Excavations began in 1992 and the museum, consisting of a number of reconstructed stilt houses and a small exhibition room, is open to the public since the year of 2000. In the interior of the ‘houses’ one can see everyday-life objects of the Neolithic people.