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The Sidirokastro is a lowland village (altitude 100m.) of Prefecture of Serres. It has a population of 6,800 (2011). It is located in the northern part of the prefecture, 26 km NW. of the city of Serres, between the mountains of Vrontos and Agistros from the north and the river Strymon from the west.
The article also covers the surrounding settlements Strymonochori, Thermopigi, Charopo, Hortero, Kato Ampelia, Kamaroto, Vamvakofyto.
At a glance
Sidirokastro is amphitheatrically built at the foot of Issari, a steep granite rock located east of the settlement.
The river Krousovitis, a tributary of Strymon, divides it into two parts that are connected by bridges: the Kalkanis, from the name of the engineer who built it, and the Stavros, because the Epiphany is thrown by the Cross.
History
The inhabitants of Sidirokastro are natives and refugees from various places: Asia Minor, the Melenikians who came in 1913 from Meleniko, Thracians who came from Eastern Thrace (European Turkey) in 1922 with the Asia Minor Catastrophe, various Pontians, North Greece's.
The ancient inhabitants of his area came from Lemnos and were called Sinti, from where the Province of Sintiki took its name.
On September 20, 1383, Sidirokastro fell to the Turks to remain under Ottoman rule for 529 years. During the Turkish occupation it was called (Demirhisar) Demir Issar (iron castle) and during the Macedonian struggle it was an important center of Hellenism. In 1900 Demir Isar was inhabited by 3300 Muslim Turks, 1200 Bulgarians, 420 Gypsies, 450 Circassians and only 350 Christian Greeks and 120 Christian Vlachs.[1]. In 1913 the Bulgarians took over the administration. On June 27, 1913, Sidirokastro was recaptured by the Greek army and many foreign monuments were lost. The period 1916-1918 was recaptured by the Bulgarians (Second Bulgarian occupation).
After the end of the civil war (1949) begins the period of the Cold War, as it is characterized, where it does not allow the development of relations with neighboring peoples and security measures are great. The area is divided into controlled and restricted zones. Under these conditions, investments in the region were non-existent. Infrastructure on bridges, roads, irrigation projects were non-existent. Those that existed before World War II were destroyed. The roads in the winter became impassable and the rivers flooded with the first rain destroying the crops, because there were no technical works. From 1965, the restoration of good neighborly relations with Bulgaria began gradually. The customs office of Promachonas opens, a modern highway is being built for that time.
How to get there
How to move
What to see
- The ruins of the fort Issari. The fortress of Issari, a building of the Kingdom of the Bulgarian Killer, is located NW. city's. "Demir Issar" in Turkish means "Iron Castle". From the panoramic position of the castle, the visitor can observe the whole city and a large part of the Serrai plain, with the river Strymon and Lake Kerkini.
Entertainment
- Sidirokastro Baths (a little north of Sidirokastro and near the railway bridge of Strymon). They have 45˚C water. (Hydrotherapy also operates in the community of Therma, as well as in Agistro)
What will you buy
Where are you going to eat?
Anything
Where to go for coffee - drink
Where will you stay?
Communications
Next destinations
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