Sidirokousia

LocationStagira

In the area of ​​the present settlement of Stagira from the height of the parish church of the Virgin Mary, there is a well-preserved historical monument that was build during the early years of Ottoman domination. An extensive installation of miners, known by the name of Sidirokafsia, with a population of seven thousand inhabitants, consisting of luxurious residences, squares, hans, baths and mosques.

The ruins of the city occupy the present hill of Agios Dimitrios, the hillside north of the present settlement of Stagira and the plateau south of the first road and the asphalt road. They are proclaimed as a medieval fortress complex of Sidirokafsia.

The main surviving buildings are two towers, one on the plateau – Aristotle’s daily park – called Madem Aga’s Tower and the other north of the village. A building complex adjacent to the first tower, known as the Madem Aga’s konaki, was also the administrative center of the settlement. There is also a bath on the eastern side of the hill, a second north of the village and the foundations of a minaret, related to the existence of a mosque. There are also scattered walls, both on the hill of Agios Dimitrios and on the mountainside, which would serve as a home for the houses that were built there.

The settlement, which is called “Castle of Isvor”, together with Isvor (present Stratoniki) constitute the Sidirokaussia of the times of Ottoman domination. Already in the middle of the 15th century this area is a sultan ”chasi” and this regime is valid until the middle of the 19th century. In 1537 a third operating regulation was issued, referring to Sidirokafsia. The efficiency of the mines decreases in the 17th and 18th centuries. After a period of production cessation, efforts are being made to reopen the works in the 18th century, leading to the economic recovery of the area. At this time, the “Commune of Mademamion” was created, a union of 12 villages called the Manemohoria, in order to continue the production of silver. At that time the temples of Agios Nikolaos Stratonikis (1813) and the birth of Theotokos Stagira (Castle, 1813-14) were build. The Revolution of 1821 caused total destruction. They resumed only in 1875.