The document summarizes information about the Castles of Thessaloniki, which are fortifications with archaeological, architectural, and historical significance. It discusses several structures that were part of the old fortifications, including the Eptapirgion Fortress, the Tower of Trigoniou, and the White Tower. The Eptapirgion Fortress served as a prison in the late 19th century. The Tower of Trigoniou was constructed in the 15th century as an arsenal and provided views of the city. The White Tower is one of the newest Ottoman fortification examples from the 16th century and was the site of executions until the late 19th century.

1. Evaggelia VarlamiEvaggelia Varlami
Atemis-Niki KozaitiAtemis-Niki Kozaiti

2. 
 The Castles of Thessaloniki are a complex of walls,
towers and fortifications with unique archaeological,
architectural and historical significance.
 What we call today "Castles of Thessaloniki" is only
part of the old fortification.
 In their original form, the walls and castles of
Thessaloniki surrounded the entire city, including
the ribbed side of the sea.
The castles of Thessaloniki

3.  The design and the technology
of the walls are very similar to
the Byzantine walls of
Constantinople, although of
course the size varies.
 The first fortifications were
created with the foundation of
the city in Hellenistic spaces,
but the present form of the
castles is for the most part
construction of the 4th century
AD. century.
The castles of Thessaloniki

4. 
 The “Eptapirgion Fortress”, also known as the Ottoman
name Yedi Kule, is located at the northeastern edge of the
walls of Thessaloniki, within the Acropolis.
 It consists of two sections: the Byzantine fortress, which
consists of ten towers, as well as the newest buildings of
the prisons, built inside and outside the fortress.
 The towers on the north side are parts of the early
Christian Wall of the Acropolis, while the southern ones
were probably added during the Middle Byzantine
period, forming the closed core of the fortress.
Eptapyrgion

5. 

6. 
In the 1890s, the fortress was turned into a prison. The prison
had long been the main prison repository in the city where it
was detained regardless of sex or crime. The inner courtyard
was separated from fences in five separate units and
centered in the central observatory.
The prison had a chapel and other annexes, while the annex
to the northeast tower was destroyed during the Second
World War. The exterior buildings, on the south side of the
castle, housed the administration, the women's prison, and
to the west, the isolation cells.
This center had a bad reputation during the Metaxas regime,
the occupation, and in the post-war period from the Greek
Civil War to the Junta (regime of the Colonels).
Eptapyrgion
as a jale

7. 
Perhaps the most impressive point of the
walls and one of the most crowded and
popular throughout Thessaloniki is the
Tower of the Trigoniou (Triangle).
Probably constructed in the second half of
the 15th century, it was used as an arsenal
and artillery tower at one of the points
where it was considered critical to combat
martial arts.
The continuous fortification of the site
testifies to the importance given to this
point as it bordered the Acropolis, which
was also the safest shelter for the
population during the raids.
“Tower of Trigoniou”

8. 
 While today the Tower is known with
both names, there are researches and
approaches that claim that the name
refers to another nearby building
with a triangular plan and projection
that makes it more accurate to refer to
it as the "Tower of Solution". During
the Ottoman period, it was also
known as the Zincirli Kule and the
Kusakli Kule, probably due to the
decorative film it brought to its
periphery.
“Tower of Trigoniou”

9. 

10. 
Visiting the “Tower of the Trigoniou” and the main
gate of the walls (Portara), you have the chance to
admire the wonderful view to the Thermaic Gulf that
offers you the place, while a closer look will reveal to
you the old boundaries of the walls that are lost in
the present center of Thessaloniki and the
boundaries of the historic upper city!
“Tower of Trigoniou”

11. 
The date of construction of the monument is
placed between 1450 and 1470, a few years after
the conquer of Thessaloniki by the Turks 1430
and is one of the newest examples of Ottoman
fortification that takes into account the artillery.
Around the Tower there was a low octagonal
enclosure with three octagonal towers, which
was demolished in the early 20th century.
This enclosure was mainly used to protect the
Tower from the sea, but it is also likely to be
used for heavy pistols to control the coastline
and harbor.
“White Tower”

12. 

13. 
 Very often the facade of the Tower was painted with
blood and there were many victims of Ottoman
torturers and executioners, as well as executions of
the prisoners from the Janissaries, at that time until
the end of the 19th century the Tower was called
"Tower of Blood".
 When the Ottoman Empire conquered Thessaloniki
and moved to the Greek government in 1912 during
the First Balkan War, the Tower was White, as it was
called, which symbolizes the cleaning.
“White
Tower”

14. 
 It is assumed that the architect was the famous
Tower Mimar Sinan, based on the similarity to
analog tower in Vlora Albania, which was built in
the decade of 1530.
 Dating wood logs used in the White Tower showed
that in the year 1535 were cut but there is possibility
that the logs have been used extensively repair the
monument.
“White Tower”