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Kastro is a small village in the Greek island of Thassos. It is believed to be the oldest village on the island. The village name comes from the old castle that existed here to protect the inhabitants.
The settlement was first mentioned in 1434 in connection with the establishment of a local fortress or citadel by Umberto Grimaldi, when Thassos was ruled by the Genoese Dorino I Gattilusio. The ruins of the citadel's wall can still be seen. Over the centuries, Kastro, like other mountain villages, was a refuge from pirates. After the fall of Constantinople in 1453 a large number of Greeks came to the island, and most settled in Theologos and Kastro. Under Ottoman administration, the place was known as Yenihisar (New Castle).
The village has a small church dedicated to St Athanasius, which has the blazon of Gattilusio on one of the outside walls. The church was built in 1804, within forty days, with the help of all the inhabitants. The stones used to build the church came from the old castle's ruins. Gattilusio's blazon was added to the church's wall, but it was put upside down. In 1980, the church was declared a historical monument, being one of the oldest churches in Thassos.
References:The Château du Lude is one of the many great châteaux of the Loire Valley in France. Le Lude is the most northerly château of the Loire Valley and one of the last important historic castles in France, still inhabited by the same family for the last 260 years. The château is testimony to four centuries of French architecture, as a stronghold transformed into an elegant house during the Renaissance and the 18th century. The monument is located in the valley of Le Loir. Its gardens have evolved throughout the centuries.
