Dimotika is a unique place called by someone a living observatory of Balkan culture. The walls of the medieval citadel are preserved and have a length of one kilometer and are reinforced with 26 towers, which are also preserved. At the top of the hill are the remains of the so-called "Byzantine palaces". The locals call this place "The Forty Chambers". The name probably comes from the hundreds of rooms carved into the rocks, scattered in a dense network throughout the elevation. Sometimes they have several rooms and are comfortable dwellings, workshops and farm parts. Clay jars for storing food supplies, wine and olive oil can be found inside and near them. The two medieval stone troughs for wine production, carved straight into the rock and completely preserved, make a great impression. Streets and staircases are formed between the carved buildings. There is no doubt that this unique town planning existed during the Byzantine period. According to the archaeologist Gouridis, however, the data points to an earlier origin of the rock architecture. He believes that the first excavations were made by the Thracians, whose ceramics were found on the hill. The Greek name of the city means twin walls and comes from the single city that existed before the barbarian invasions, located on the neighboring lower hill. Subsequently, the two cities merged. In 813, the city became part of Bulgaria, for which a memorial column was erected in the capital Pliska, which is now preserved in the Archaeological Museum in Sofia. In the 11th century, Byzantium regained possession of Dimotica. At the beginning of the 13th century, the Crusaders took control of the city. A little later, King Kaloyan recaptured the city and made it part of Bulgaria. In 1352, the decisive battle of Pythion took place here between the allied Bulgarians, Serbs and Byzantines and the Turks. The victory is Ottoman. In 1361 Dimotika fell under Ottoman rule and became the first Ottoman capital in European lands. In February 1713, the King of Sweden, Karl XII, after the defeat at Poltava, stayed for some time in the castle of Dimotica.