Fort Istibey

Fort Istibey
Part of the Metaxas Line
External view of the fortress
Fort Istibey
Coordinates	41°20′24″N 23°13′52″E / 41.340°N 23.231°E / 41.340; 23.231
Type	Fort
Site information
Owner	Greek Army
Controlled by	Greece

Entrance of the fortress

Fort Istibey (Greek: Οχυρό Ιστίμπεη) is a fortress on Mount Beles, Central Macedonia, at the north border of Greece built to help defend Greece during the World War 2.

It became part of the fortifications of the Metaxas Line, a chain of fortifications along the Greek-Bulgarian borders that were built in the 1930s, named after Ioannis Metaxas, then Prime Minister of Greece.

It is situated 16 km north of Neo Petritsi village at an altitude of 1.339 meters.

The main mission of the fort was to prevent entrance to the country from Bulgaria. It occupied 13 officers and 350 soldiers. It commander in chief was Ksanthos Pikoulakis.

The fort was active until April 1941, when it was forced to surrender to German troops.

In 1991 the Panhellenic Association of Combatants and Friends of the Forts of Macedonia and Thrace funded the construction of a small museum on this site in commemoration of its role in the Battle of the Forts in April 1941, against invading German forces.

Access to the museum is restricted: permission must be obtained from the military unit stationed at Petritsi, which is four kilometres off the Serres-Promachonas National road (Kilkis junction). Foreign nationals must have obtained a special permit from the Hellenic Army General Staff.

The museum contains firearms (rifles, revolvers, pistols and machine-guns) belonging to the Greek and German armies, army uniforms of the time, various personal belongings of the defenders, as well as a map detailing the Battle of the Forts. During visits a film is also shown, which tells the story of the battle at Fort Istibey.

Sources

The original version of this article was taken from the corresponding article at the Museums of Macedonia website, commissioned by the Macedonian Heritage foundation, written by Vlasis Vlasidis, and published under a CC-BY-SA-3.0 license.

Metaxas Line

Beles area	Popotlivitsa Istibey Kelkagia Arpalouki Paliouriones

Angistro area	Roupel Karatas

Ali Boutous and Mavro Vouno areas	Persek

Kato Nevrokopi plateau	Babazora Perithori Partalouska Dasavli Lisse Pyramoeides

Volakas area	Kastillo Agios Nikolaos Bartiseva

Xanthi	Echinos

Komotini	Nymfaia

Greece during World War II

1940–41 Balkan Campaign	Occupation and Resistance		Greek government-in-exile

Greco-Italian War Battles Pindus Elaia–Kalamas Korytsa/Korcë Saranda Morava–Ivan Himara Klisura Pass Trebeshina Italian Spring Offensive Commanders Greece Ioannis Metaxas Alexander Papagos Charalambos Katsimitros Konstantinos Davakis Ioannis Pitsikas Dimitrios Papadopoulos Georgios Kosmas Italy Benito Mussolini Sebastiano Visconti Prasca Ubaldo Soddu Ugo Cavallero Carlo Geloso German invasion Battles Metaxas Line Vevi Kleisoura Pass Thermopylae Crete Commanders Greece Alexander Papagos Georgios Tsolakoglou British Empire & Commonwealth Henry Maitland Wilson Thomas Blamey Bernard Freyberg Germany Wilhelm List Kurt Student	Occupying powers Authorities/People Germany Günther Altenburg Hermann Neubacher Walter Schimana Alexander Löhr Hellmuth Felmy Friedrich-Wilhelm Müller Alexander Andrae Bruno Bräuer Italy Angelico Carta Pellegrino Ghigi Carlo Geloso Piero Parini Bulgaria Andon Kalchev Atrocities Kondomari Kandanos Alikianos Doxato Kommeno Kalavryta Distomo Domenikon Drakeia Cephalonia Mesovouno Pyrgoi Viannos Kedros Kleisoura Haidari concentration camp 200 of Kaisariani Chortiatis The Holocaust in Greece Great Famine Collaborators People Georgios Tsolakoglou K. Logothetopoulos Ioannis Rallis Georgios Poulos George S. Mercouris Ioannis Plytzanopoulos Sotirios Gotzamanis Organizations Collaborationist government Security Battalions ESPO EEE Greek National Socialist Party Secessionists Vlach "Roman Legion" Ohrana Cham collaboration (Këshilla) Atrocities Paramythia Kaisariani Kokkinia	National Liberation Front (EAM) People Aris Velouchiotis Stefanos Sarafis Andreas Tzimas Georgios Siantos Alexandros Svolos Ilias Tsirimokos Markos Vafiades Organizations KKE Socialist Party ELAS ELAN EPON PEEA & National Council E.A. OPLA SNOF Operations Drama Uprising Ryka Mikro Chorio Gorgopotamos Bridge Fardykambos Sarantaporo Porta Pinerolo disarmament Steiri Agorelitsa Atrocities Feneos 5/42 dissolution Meligalas Non-EAM Resistance People Napoleon Zervas Georgios Kartalis Dimitrios Psarros Komninos Pyromaglou Kostas Perrikos Vasileios Sachinis Georgios Petrakis Organizations EDES EKKA YVE/PAO PEAN EOK E.S. MAVI Other Operations ESPO bombing Gorgopotamos Bridge Fardykambos Agia Kyriaki Milia Skala Paramythias Xirovouni Menina Dodona Atrocities Expulsion of Cham Albanians British Mission in Greece (SOE) People Eddie Myers Chris Woodhouse Patrick Leigh Fermor Bill Stanley Moss Jerzy Iwanow-Szajnowicz Operations Operation "Albumen" Gorgopotamos Bridge Operation "Animals" Asopos Bridge Kidnap of Heinrich Kreipe Damasta sabotage	Events El Alamein Dodecanese Campaign April 1944 mutiny Battle of Rimini People King George II Emmanouil Tsouderos Sofoklis Venizelos Panagiotis Kanellopoulos Thrasyvoulos Tsakalotos Pafsanias Katsotas Notable units 3rd Mountain Brigade Sacred Band Vasilissa Olga Adrias Katsonis Papanikolis 13th Squadron 335th Squadron 336th Squadron Toward the Civil War Events National Bands Agreement Plaka agreement Lebanon conference Caserta agreement Percentages agreement Dekemvriana Treaty of Varkiza People Georgios Papandreou Ronald Scobie Archbishop Damaskinos Georgios Grivas Angelos Evert Nikos Zachariadis

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