KASTRO

On the Apitiki hill overlooking Platanos, Panteli and Agia Marina, stand the remains of the Byzantine fortress kastro. Access is by road (2 km) or on foot (370 steps). The view from the castle is breathtaking: on a clear day, you can see the coasts of Kalymnos, Lipsi and Patmos. Built around the ^11th century on the ruins of an ancient acropolis, the fortified city was intended to protect the inhabitants of Leros from attack, particularly from pirates. The Knights of the Order of St. John consolidated the first Byzantine fortifications to counter Ottoman aggression as early as 1310, and the fortress was still used as a defensive bastion by Greek revolutionaries fighting for independence against the Ottoman Empire in the early ^19th century. In the years following colonization in 1912, the Italians decided to make use of the castle. Italian troops withdrew during the Leros campaign in the Second World War, when the fort was bombed and damaged. Only recently have the archaeological services succeeded in renovating it. Here you can see the ^17th-century Church of the Virgin Mary, which contains a miraculous icon, and a small museum of Byzantine art with liturgical vestments and a fine library. From the kastro, you can't miss the particularly photogenic windmills. One of them has been converted into a small folklore museum showcasing traditional Leros housing.