Krini, the true gateway to the Angelokastro medieval castle, is just a few kilometres northwest of
Paleokastritsa. As you follow the road to the sea, the castle view suddenly appears from nowhere
in all its magnificent grandeur, standing before you like a giant crowned head of Zeus. This is
a small but very picturesque village, well kept and nicely painted, built on the slopes of Istoni
mountain, which has some 266 residents. The story goes that Krini has existed since Homer’s time,
but evidence suggests that the villagers’ surnames refer to officials of the medieval Byzantine army.
They are the descendants of the “Akrites”, the guards of the borders of the Byzantine empire.
The village square is crowned by a single tree, circled with a stone sitting area, that stakes its
claim as the centre of the plateia (square), where the men gather to talk and drink coffee. There
is a kafeneio and the church of Agios Nikolaos which has some marble archangel pictures. A one
kilometre walk downhill will bring you to the the Palioklisies region and the start of the ascent to
the Angelokastro castle, “Castle of Angels”. At a height of 305 metres to the Acropolis, the castle
was one of the most important fortifications in Byzantine times as it was the lookout point for the
protection of the northwest coastline.
Two early Christian slabs were unearthed in 1997, suggesting that the area was occupied in early
Byzantine times, between the 5th and 7th centuries. The castle dates from around the 11th or 12th
century and was virtually impregnable. It withstood the attacks from the Turks in 1571 and 1716
when much of Corfu was sacked. The views from the castle are outstanding and from here you can
see the Diapontian islands. There is a church dedicated to the Archangel Michael, a tiny chapel
dedicated to Saint Kyriaki, a cemetery and a circular tower. All this information was kindly supplied from the books written by Steve Ford and the money raised from sales of these goes to Corfu Charities. Please use the link below to download your own copy and find more information on all the villages listed and more from Steve
Paleokastritsa. As you follow the road to the sea, the castle view suddenly appears from nowhere
in all its magnificent grandeur, standing before you like a giant crowned head of Zeus. This is
a small but very picturesque village, well kept and nicely painted, built on the slopes of Istoni
mountain, which has some 266 residents. The story goes that Krini has existed since Homer’s time,
but evidence suggests that the villagers’ surnames refer to officials of the medieval Byzantine army.
They are the descendants of the “Akrites”, the guards of the borders of the Byzantine empire.
The village square is crowned by a single tree, circled with a stone sitting area, that stakes its
claim as the centre of the plateia (square), where the men gather to talk and drink coffee. There
is a kafeneio and the church of Agios Nikolaos which has some marble archangel pictures. A one
kilometre walk downhill will bring you to the the Palioklisies region and the start of the ascent to
the Angelokastro castle, “Castle of Angels”. At a height of 305 metres to the Acropolis, the castle
was one of the most important fortifications in Byzantine times as it was the lookout point for the
protection of the northwest coastline.
Two early Christian slabs were unearthed in 1997, suggesting that the area was occupied in early
Byzantine times, between the 5th and 7th centuries. The castle dates from around the 11th or 12th
century and was virtually impregnable. It withstood the attacks from the Turks in 1571 and 1716
when much of Corfu was sacked. The views from the castle are outstanding and from here you can
see the Diapontian islands. There is a church dedicated to the Archangel Michael, a tiny chapel
dedicated to Saint Kyriaki, a cemetery and a circular tower. All this information was kindly supplied from the books written by Steve Ford and the money raised from sales of these goes to Corfu Charities. Please use the link below to download your own copy and find more information on all the villages listed and more from Steve
Websitehttps://www.amazon.co.uk/s?k=steve+ford+corfu+villages&ref=nb_sb_noss_2
Emailcorfuvillageseu@gmail.com
Location:Unnamed Road, Krini 490 83, Greece