Parga historical

At the end of 13. cent. b. Chr. there were mykenic men at the same place. In the following years there often was war. the town was named Toryne. First names was Parga in the year 1320.

The foundation of the today's Parga goes back to a legend. A shepherd found in a cave in the Valtos bay a Panagia icon which he took with to Palevkastro. Three times there disappeared the picture in inexplicable way, and three times it was found again in the cave in the Valtos bay.

From 1360 Parga stands under normanic rule. 1401 it fell to the Venetians, 1452 - 54 was the town at short notice in Turkish hand, afterwards again in more Venetian. 1537 it was completely laid waste by Kheir el-din Barbarossa. After Napoleon's victory over Venice the French supremacy was recognized, after it had been taken in 1797 by the French. They established a small fort on the close wooded island Panagia.

On the 21st March, 1800 signed Russia and Turkey the contract about the Septinsulaire republic. Under the protection of Russia was Parga of 1800 - in 1807 independently, until it fell by the contract of Tilsit in 1807 again in France. Seven years later it belonged to the Britons. Cruel Turk Ali the pasha who had always tried in vain to conquer the strategically important small town bought it around 150,000, - pound in 1817 from the Englishmen. The population fled on the Ionic islands. (If one deals more with the peculiarities Ali pashas, this does not surprise!) in the beginning of 1913 the Turkish rule ended after the freeing Ioanninas also in Parga. Since then it belongs to Greece.

Walk on the castle

You reaches the castle ruins from the end of the harbour promenade at an end on the left by the Old Town about the stairs. She is open from 8 - 20 o'clock. The entry is (still) free.

After you reach the gate to the castle offers a rest in "cafe inside the Castle", because the precipitous, stony ways in the castle area have it - especially with summery heat - in themselves. If you turns after the castle gate to the right, you reachs with stamped out paths the plateau from which you has a marvelous look about Parga and to the Valtos bay.

The castle was built 1572 of the Venetians and was strengthened by the Turks. One recognizes the towers from the Venetian time by the carefully explained cornerstones.

There were beside the living rooms also big magazine rooms and a Turkish bath. By loam pipes the water from "Maras" spring reached in big containers which there were in the different levels of the castle and could be taken from those.

The rests of the castle into which one bumps on the side turned to the land let only hard foresee how it might have looked at that time, as the buildings were still unscathed. Still one discovers here and there little things like an ornament in the ground stone or about a door which point out to the fact that, nevertheless, it must have been rather magnificent.

Look upstairs ...	... And downstairs. Here is (or was) really a stair!

It is advisable to draw good shoes if you wants to investigate the whole castle area. Indeed, are renovation work going, however, there are some stairs which are to be committed rather dangerously. In addition, one never knows what lives there in the natural vegetation... Queues and Skopions are in Greece everywhere at home.
Especially on the side turned to the sea of the castle there are primarily beaten paths by wildly growing rampant vegetation with many ramshackle stones.

From the castle you has a marvelous look about Parga, the Valtos bay and over to the islands Panagia, Paxi and Antipaxi.