The Byzantine Castle of Moglena in Pella has opened to visitors after a €1.85 million conservation and restoration project funded through the European Union’s Recovery and Resilience Facility, the Ministry of Culture announced on August 3.
Also known as the Castle of Chrysi for the nearby village, the fortress overlooks the Almopia plain in Central Macedonia.
Crews reinforced foundations, repaired structural damage, and restored a substantial section of the eastern fortifications, along with the gate tower in the southern walls. They also conserved masonry at the episcopal basilica and a cemetery church outside the fortress.
New walking routes connect the walls with the two churches. The site also received restrooms, informational signs, designated access and viewing areas, and lighting along sections of the walls and selected paths. The grounds immediately around the monument were improved as well.
In 2016, the Ephorate of Antiquities of Pella and the Municipality of Almopia began preparing the restoration through studies developed under the INTERREG program. Archaeological work conducted from 2016 to 2018 produced new findings that required the studies to be updated. The project entered the Recovery and Resilience Facility on January 31, 2022.
Moglena stands about one kilometer northwest of Chrysi and 18 kilometers north of Edessa. From its position on a low hill, the fortified settlement could monitor the western Almopia plain and a branch of the regional road network connected to the Via Egnatia corridor.
The castle’s construction is generally placed in the early ninth century, during a period of Bulgarian incursions into Macedonia. It reached its height between the 10th and 13th centuries, when it served as an administrative and ecclesiastical center and as the seat of a Byzantine theme and bishopric.
Byzantine sources mention Moglena in accounts of Emperor Basil II’s campaigns against the Bulgarians and Emperor Alexios I Komnenos’ wars against Norman forces. The settlement remained occupied until the late 14th century and was gradually abandoned after the Ottoman conquest of the region.
Archaeological investigations conducted from 1985 to 1987 uncovered a three-aisled basilica identified as the episcopal church. Archaeologists also found a small cross-shaped cemetery church and part of a burial ground beyond the southern walls.