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Kastro is a small village in the Greek island of Thassos. It is believed to be the oldest village on the island. The village name comes from the old castle that existed here to protect the inhabitants.
The settlement was first mentioned in 1434 in connection with the establishment of a local fortress or citadel by Umberto Grimaldi, when Thassos was ruled by the Genoese Dorino I Gattilusio. The ruins of the citadel's wall can still be seen. Over the centuries, Kastro, like other mountain villages, was a refuge from pirates. After the fall of Constantinople in 1453 a large number of Greeks came to the island, and most settled in Theologos and Kastro. Under Ottoman administration, the place was known as Yenihisar (New Castle).
The village has a small church dedicated to St Athanasius, which has the blazon of Gattilusio on one of the outside walls. The church was built in 1804, within forty days, with the help of all the inhabitants. The stones used to build the church came from the old castle's ruins. Gattilusio's blazon was added to the church's wall, but it was put upside down. In 1980, the church was declared a historical monument, being one of the oldest churches in Thassos.
References:Visby Cathedral (also known as St. Mary’s Church) is the only survived medieval church in Visby. It was originally built for German merchants and inaugurated in 1225. Around the year 1350 the church was enlarged and converted into a basilica. The two-storey magazine was also added then above the nave as a warehouse for merchants.
Following the Reformation, the church was transformed into a parish church for the town of Visby. All other churches were abandoned. Shortly after the Reformation, in 1572, Gotland was made into its own Diocese, and the church designated its cathedral.
There is not much left of the original interior. The font is made of local red marble in the 13th century. The pulpit was made in Lübeck in 1684. There are 400 graves under the church floor.