Palaiokastro is a mountain village in the municipality of Polygyros, on the south-western side of Mount Cholomontas, at an altitude of about 560 metres. It is 8 km from Polygyros and 59 km from Thessaloniki, built mainly along the road to Taxiarchis.
Palaiokastro is a mountain village in the municipality of Polygyros, on the south-western side of Mount Cholomontas, at an altitude of about 560 metres. It is 8 km from Polygyros and 59 km from Thessaloniki, built mainly along the road to Taxiarchis.
The area has been settled in various spots since prehistoric times. The old village was founded around 1500; it was first called Agia Paraskevi and later Kagiatzik. After 1912 it took the name Palaiokastro ("old castle") from the ruins of a castle on a hill north-east of the village. The present settlement was built from the 1960s on a new site, where the roads of the area meet.
The old village is a listed traditional settlement, with many stone houses and the old stone school. Highlights are the stone church of Agios Athanasios (1864), the castle ruins, remains of watermills and bridges along the stream, and the oak forest on the slope.
On the eve and the day of Epiphany the village revives the custom of the Fotarades, with costumes and bells.
Nearby are Agios Prodromos (about 5.5 km), Polygyros and Taxiarchis (about 7.5 km). The nearest sea is the Toroneos Gulf, south of Polygyros.
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