Servia Castle
The Acropolis of the Serbs
The Byzantine city of the Serbs had the Acropolis, the Upper City and the Lower City. That is, there were three defensive walls for the invaders, which simultaneously protected the military commander who lived in the Acropolis, both from external and internal enemies. In the lower city lived the farmers and workers, in the upper city the middle class resided and in the Acropolis the Military Commander, as John Kantakouzenos states: “The third, the extreme being, the lord rises”.
The Castle of the Serbs was built between (560-650 AD), that is, in the years of Justinian or Heraclius.
The Acropolis covered 2.5 acres and today the Towers, which exceeded 20 meters in height, large parts of the walls and traces of buildings are preserved - with great damage.
The Upper City covered 20 acres. The bases of many houses and the walls that surrounded it, which had a polygonal shape, with round and rectangular towers that followed the slope of the hill, are preserved.
The Lower City covered 75 acres. Walls, part of the central high gate of the Castle, parts of aqueducts, many ruins and traces of houses and churches are preserved. Three churches in fact are preserved in fairly good condition with many rare and wonderful frescoes. It is the great Byzantine Basilica Church (11th century) which is believed by experts to be of Agios Demetrios, the church of Prodromos Ioannis and the monastery of Agioi Theodoroi, perched like a dovecote on a wild and steep rock, with a fantastic view.
The Byzantine city of Servia was the seat of a bishopric from the 8th century AD to the 18th century AD with the great Basilica Church of Agios Demetrios as its cathedral.
Wikipedia
