Halkidiki Prosforio Tower

Location: Ouranoupolis

The Tower of Prosforio in Ouranoupolis, Halkidiki: The Byzantine tower of Ouranoupolis village is known as the Tower of Prosforio. It was built in the 14th century, apparently before 1344. by monks of the Vatopedi Abbey in Mount Athos, to protect the area from enemy invasions. It is situated next to the small harbor of Ouranoupolis. This tower is part of a small fortified complex and serves as a base for the Prosforio monastery, which is a dependency of the Vatopedi Abbey.

Among the most remarkable features of this construction, we can mention the diversity of its origins, since the bottom part, which bears the structure of the tower, belongs to the Byzantine period, while the last two floors, and apparently some other parts that didn't survive centuries, date from the Turkish dominion that occurred after 1585. Regarding the interior of the tower, it is made of wood and it dates from the 19th century. It also has two wooden balconies.

Apart from all these origin facts, this Byzantine tower is also important in historical terms because, since 1928, it constituted the home of the Loch couple, who supported the refugees of that time and created the current tradition in hand made carpets.

On the other hand, this tower is the biggest and the best-maintained tower in Halkidiki, despite suffering an earthquake in the 19th century that destroyed the top floor. This requested a lot of repairs, after which it took its current form. The surrounding buildings were built during the same period, one of which hosts the local municipal office.

However, the Prosforio Tower was the object of several restoration works, the most recent of which was performed by the 10th Inland Revenue of Byzantine antiquities and it certainly assured its best-maintained status. In the present, there are plans for this tower to house an educational exhibition on the history and the archaeology of rural Halkidiki.