Servia: Castle Town and Church History

Servia combines a Byzantine castle town with a layered architectural and church history. If you are looking for a hotel in Servia and also choose your destination based on its cultural and historical features, the castle town offers a specific point of interest. The historic site can be understood through its fortification walls, lower town, and ecclesiastical buildings.

Castle Town and Middle Byzantine Walls

The Byzantine castle town lies on a rocky hill at the mouth of a narrow gorge; its location is naturally fortified. Most of the surviving fortification walls of Servia Castle date from the Middle Byzantine period of the 11th and 12th centuries. This dating applies to the majority of the surviving walls, not to every building in the castle town. The rocky hill, gorge entrance, and fortifications are thus part of the same geographical setting.

Buildings in the Lower Town

The castle’s lower town covers 75 stremmata, or 7.5 hectares. Its three well-preserved ecclesiastical buildings include an 11th-century basilica, the Church of St. John the Baptist, and the Monastery of the Holy Theodoroi. The area given refers to the lower town as a whole; the buildings mentioned are individual parts of this area. The architectural history here therefore encompasses more than a single monument.

The Basilica of the Catechumens

The Basilica of the Catechumens is located in the lower town and has three aisles. It has a narthex and a raised central nave. The three-aisled plan divides the church interior into a central nave and two side aisles; its greater height further emphasizes the central area. A narthex is an entrance vestibule in a church. The floor plan, differing heights, and narthex describe distinct features of the building and help explain its architectural layout.

Wall Paintings and Alterations

Three layers of wall paintings survive in the Basilica of the Catechumens. The first belongs to the original construction phase. The second dates to the 13th century, during the time of Bishop Michael; the third dates to the 15th–16th centuries. The paintings therefore do not represent a single period, but a sequence spanning the original construction phase through the early modern period.

The basilica’s architectural history also spans several centuries: it was altered several times between the 12th and 16th centuries. The alterations and wall paintings each tell a different part of its history. The alterations concern changes to the building itself, while the three surviving layers of paintings can be dated. When considering the dates, it is therefore important to distinguish whether they refer to the fortification walls, the changes to the basilica, or its wall paintings. Most of the surviving walls date from the 11th and 12th centuries; the third layer of paintings dates to the 15th–16th centuries.

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