Location information

Pano Kastro (Upper Castle) or Fanaeromeni Castle

Pano Kastro (Upper Castle) or Faneromeni Castle or The Old Lady's Castle was the strongest and largest city in Andros island during the middle-ages. It was built by Venetians on top a spectacular plateau north of Ormos, at a height of 600m. It could protect around 1000 (or more) people and it was considered to be impregnable, thanks to the high rocks and the strong wall surrounding it. Its history is unknown and this is the probable reason for the myths associated with it. According to the most known, the Ottomans, who could not conquer it, send there an old lady with her pregnant daughter to ask for help. Instead, the same night the old lady opened the gate and the Ottomans who finally went inside, slaughtered all the people. Later, the old lady, having regretted for what she did, climbed on a high peak and committed suicide, jumping towards the sea. So, her memory remained imprinted in two sights of the area: "the Old Lady's Castle" and "the Old Lady's Jump" (Grias Pidima), a nice beach nearby. Nowadays it is accessible through a path starting from Kochylou village and somebody can see ruins of houses, churches, cisterns and Faneromeni church. Above all, there is the magnificent view of the Aegean Sea and an impressive landscape.

This text is cited Feb 2003 from the Municipality of Korthi URL below, which contains image.

• http://www.andros.gr/island/ax1_en.htm#pk (1 img.)

Municipality of Korthi WebPage
• http://www.korthi.gr/fa_in2_en.htm (1 img.)
• http://www.villadora.gr/english/view_CastlesEN.htm... (1 img.)