Built on a hill that was formerly surrounded by dense, tall firs, the Tower of Galatista stands at the center of this Macedonian town. It is similar to other towers in the wider region such as Vrasna, St. Basil Lagada, Pyrgoudia in Provlaka, or even the Rila Monastery in Bulgaria. You will see it in logos of agencies, clubs and businesses in the area as there are not many other attractions around and the tower is the trademark.
The tower is definitely built in Venetian style but its not Venetian. It is not known when it was built exactly. Perhaps in the early 15th century. It can therefore be described as a “post-Byzantine”.
Imposing, narrow, with recesses on its outer walls and small vertical slots for windows, the Galatistas Tower is obviously a fortress-observatory that communicated with the plain and its villages and is also likely to be used as a prison. It is made of solid stone and clay (the so-called taran or kurashani) and has a dark brown color. When there was still a forest around, it is said that only from a distance one could find it!
The stories and speculations around the Tower are many, and over the years they have acquired the myth of existence. They say that the Queen Galatea lived in the Tower, which in one version gave its name to Galatista and that it was communicating with an underground tunnel with the area of Agia Paraskevi in the plain. The sure thing is that in or near the Tower passed a stream as evidenced by the watermill preserved just below the Tower.
In the period 1995-1996, the 10th Ephorate of Antiquities made restoration work in the tower. A wooden ceiling, a wooden floor, windows were installed and a staircase was built to the raised entrance. The tower is in good condition after the restoration work that took place in the 1990s.
