Kavala Fortress is being upgraded and made accessible to people with disabilities

The Ministry of Culture and Sports is proceeding with interventions to improve accessibility for visitors, spectators and the disabled, as well as for the functional and aesthetic upgrade of the outdoor theater within the outer enclosure of the Kavala fortress, as part of its planning to upgrade its infrastructure monument, enhancing the accessibility of cultural spaces, as well as its role as a cultural hub and development resource for the city of Kavala.

As stated by the Minister of Culture and Sports, Lina Mendoni, “for Kavala, its fortress, the acropolis from antiquity to the Ottoman period, is a landmark, as it dominates and largely shapes the city’s cultural landscape. Today the area, as found in our autopsy, lacks basic infrastructure. In the outer perimeter of the fortress, the open-air theater that hosts events and at the same time functions as a recreation area for the visitors of the monument, shows damage, while the movement to all areas of the fortress is not defined by corridors, hindering the movement of the disabled.

The planned operations are aimed at solving the problems of access to the space and the smooth and safe movement inside it as possible. The theater is upgraded aesthetically and functionally, rest and recreation areas are created, the experience of the visitors is enriched, at the same time as the cultural and tourist stock of the city. The monument is part of the everyday life of all citizens, its visitorship is enhanced, but also its identity as a place of experience, culture and learning”.

The project of creating routes for the disabled and disabled people in the area of ​​the Kavala Fortress, included in the PEP of Eastern Macedonia – Thrace – NSRF 2014-2020, includes the optimization of the infrastructure, in terms of access to the monument, the upgrade of the reception area and services for the disabled, the configuration of the movement route of visitors and the disabled. As for the access from the main entrance of the Fortress, due to a lack of useful space, the installation of an electric ladder platform elevator was deemed the most suitable solution. In the inner precinct where the central circular tower, the prison and the officers’ dormitory are located, the smoothing of the terrain relief and the formation of a corridor are planned. In the area where the stands of the fortress are located, marking and demarcation of stopping points for disabled wheelchairs is planned.

The aesthetic and functional upgrade of the open-air theater in the fortress of Kavala is launched through the Cultural Development Program Agreement between the Ministry of Culture and Sports of the Region of Eastern Macedonia – Thrace and the Municipality of Kavala. The project is financed by the YPPOA with resources from the Recovery Fund, with the implementing body being the Municipality of Kavala.

This includes the replacement of the existing stage of the theater, the remodeling of the bleachers creating a uniform ensemble and the replacement of the existing seats with the addition of new ones. The project aims to upgrade the open-air theater in accordance with current standards for the safety and comfort of visitors, spectators and artists. For the better functioning of the area as a whole, it is considered appropriate to reopen the northern gate of the fortress.

Since 2007, when the Fortress was made open to visitors, projects have been carried out to highlight and restore the Acropolis, including individual maintenance, restoration and configuration works on the preserved buildings of the inner enclosure, with the aim of reviving the area and creating spaces suitable for cultural events. In addition to the works to improve accessibility and upgrade the outdoor theater, interventions are also underway in the old prison and officers’ buildings in the inner precincts of the Fort.

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