Description of the attraction
In the city of Kastoria, on the top of the hill where the ancient Byzantine Acropolis was once located, the magnificent Byzantine Museum is located in a modern building. His collection contains a unique collection of Byzantine and post-Byzantine icons that date back to the XII-XVII centuries. Also in the museum are sculptures, mosaics, frescoes, manuscripts, coins and much more.
The Byzantine Museum was founded in 1989. The museum's collection contains approximately 700 icons that were collected from the multiple Byzantine and post-Byzantine churches of Kastoria. Almost all of them have been restored by the museum staff. The collection is divided into six parts depending on the date and the workshop. Most of the unique collection is made by local workshops in Macedonia, but there are also works of the Cretan school of icon painting, and masterpieces brought from the Ionian Islands and Venice. The permanent exhibition contains only 35 icons, while the rest are kept in the museum's funds.
Among the most important and valuable icons, it is worth highlighting the icon of the Prophet Elijah, which dates back to the 12th century and is made in the Comnenian style. Of particular value is the icon of St. Nicholas, which also dates back to the 12th century. Interesting are the icons of the Almighty Savior (XIV century), Saints Cosmas and Damian (XIV century), Descent from the Cross (XIV century), Our Lady of Hodegetria (XVI century) and the icon of Christ Pantokrator (XVI century, Cretan school). Also on display are the altar doors depicting a scene of the Annunciation (15th century) - a fine example of a local workshop (the school of Kastoria).
During the period of Byzantine domination, Kastoria was a rather powerful and influential city, which could not but affect its history and culture. Today, the unique collection of the Byzantine Museum is considered one of the richest and most complete such collections in the world.
