Bishop seal

The “Master Impression” is one of the most important findings and a trademark of the excavations in the archaeological area of the square of Agia Ekaterini on Castelli Hill. It dates from the period 1450-1400 BC and bears a unique representation in Minoan art: a multi-storey building complex on a seaside hill, identical to the hill of Kasteli, where it was discovered.Mounting horns adorn the stelae and the middle and tallest one depicts a young man in a despotic position.

The War Memorial of the Battle of Crete (Golgothas)

An integral part of modern Cretan history, the area of “Golgothas” in Agia was a place of execution of patriots by the German conquerors. The executions took place in two valleys, between which there was a small hill, about 1,500 metres away from the Prison buildings. In total, from May 1941 to May 1945, more than two hundred people were executed.

The symbol of this martyrdom site is the famous “pillar of Agia”, a trunk on which the fighters to be executed were tied, which today is kept in the Historical Archive of Crete. In later years a simple monument was built in this area to preserve historical memory.

The Literary Association “Chrysostomos”

The Literary Association “Chrysostomos” is the oldest intellectual and cultural association not only in the city of Chania, but also in the whole of Crete. It was founded in 1899 and was initially active in matters of a broader social and educational nature. When this care came under the jurisdiction of the Greek State, the Association focused mainly on the spiritual and cultural sector. The contribution of the Association to the intellectual, social and generally cultural movement of the city was and is significant.

The Association is historically linked to the early years of the Cretan State (1898 – 1913). The building that houses the “Chrysostomos” is located on Halidon Street, almost opposite the Municipal Gallery and is a typical example of the neoclassical trend in Crete. Lectures, honorary events for prominent people of letters and arts, musical events and art exhibitions are held in its magnificent and renovated space.

“Chrysostomos” is closely linked to the institution of the Cretan Congresses, the most important international scientific event in Crete in the field of Cretan studies. It is held every five years in a different prefecture of the island and brings together a very large number of scientists from all over the world, more than 700. The 2nd and the 6th Cretological Congress had been held in Chania in 1966 and 1986. According to the decision of the Plenary Session of the Th Congress, in Elounda in 2001, Chrysostomos was entrusted with the organization of the next Congress, the I Congress, which was held again in Chania in the autumn of 2006, after twenty years.

The Church of St. Mary Magdalene

The church of Saint Mary Magdalene, the so-called “sovereign church”, was built when the High Commissioner of Crete, Prince George offered in early 1901 ten thousand rubles and the plans for the construction of a church, in memory of the stay in Chania of his sister Mary, wife of the Grand Duke of Russia George.

The Commissioner deposited the money in the Bank of Crete and the plans, which had been drawn up in Russia, were handed over to the Director of Public Works, Panzeiris, for him to study. It is a peculiar architectural type of temple with a rectangular hall that ends in a decorative dome of Russian form and is surrounded by a perimeter gallery. Finally, it was decided that the new church, with a capacity of 80 people, should be erected opposite the Palace and an Orthodox priest should work in it. The supervision for the execution of the project and the landscaping of the surrounding area was undertaken by the architect Christos Tso On January 6, 1903 the inauguration was held in a very intimate circle in the presence of Queen Olga of Greece, the Metropolitan of Crete Eugene and Prince George, Prince Lebesis’ aide-de-camp and the special secretary Papadiamantopoulos and his wife.

After his departure from Crete in May 1909, the Prince offered the church to the Municipality of Chania and Chalepa, in memory of the days he spent in Crete and the love with which the community of Chalepa surrounded him.

The House of Eleftherios Venizelos

The land where the house of the Venizelos family is built in the homonymous square of Chalepa was bought by Kyriakos Venizelos in 1876. A letter from Lefteris Venizelos to his father on 13 January 1879 suggests that the construction of the house was finished in about 1880 and it accommodated the deceased owner in its large hall in 1883.

The morphology of Venizelos’ house, in the type of villa with the western roof and other construction details, is also found in other houses of Chalepa that are located nearby and were built a little earlier, namely the houses of the engineer Leonidas Lygounis, a close friend of Kyriakos Venizelos. The two-storey house had the utility rooms on the ground floor, the bedrooms and the large reception room on the first floor. A garden, planted with various trees, vine, olive trees and a small house, surrounds the building, which is protected by a wooden fence. After the death of Kyriakos Venizelos, the house housed his son Eleftherios and his family and the latter’s wife, Maria, was found dead there on 11 November 1894.

After Venizelos’ meteoric rise to political prominence in Crete and Greece and his departure for Athens, the house was rented to various persons (Russian officers, Loubansky, Plumidakis, office of Kyriakos K. Mitsotakis) until 1927. Eleftherios Venizelos then went down to Crete to work personally on the radical renovation of his father’s house and to welcome Elena Venizelos, his second wife. That’s why at first he stayed at the house of his nephew Kyriakos K. Mitsotakis, the famous Galaria. When the small garden house was repaired, he moved into it to supervise the renovation and repair work himself, with the help of the engineer Stavridis and his best man Konstantino Ligidaki. The present form of the house is after the modifications made by Eleftherios Venizelos, moving the reception rooms to the ground floor and leaving the bedrooms on the first floor.

Today it houses the National Foundation for Research and Studies “Eleftherios Venizelos”.

The Palace

The Palace is located in Chalepa, right next to the house of Eleftherios Venizelos. It was built around 1882 in the villa type and is a classic example of a mansion of the era characterized by simplicity and symmetry. In 1898, with the declaration of the Autonomous Cretan State as the most suitable building, it was used as the residence of the High Commissioner, Prince George, which is why it has been known as “The Palace” ever since.

After the departure of Prince George in 1906, it was the residence of the next High Commissioner Alexandros Zaimis, who made many changes to both the exterior and interior of the building. Later, the General Governors of Crete also stayed there. From 1940 to 1957 it housed the military hospital, while during the Occupation it was requisitioned and used as a headquarters by the Germans.

Chalepa

In the middle of the 19^th century, the village of Chalepa began to develop to the east of the city, outside the boundaries of the fortifications. The region acquired a prominent place in the history of Crete with the famous “Convention of Chalepa”, signed in October 1878 between the Ottomans and the Cretans, which resulted in the granting of limited autonomous citizenship to the island.

Chalepas Street, the main road outside the walls, now El. Venizelos, starting to the east of Chania, was a well-kept road with blue acacia trees from the gardens of the Georgioupolis Agricultural Society. He ended up in this rich aristocratic suburb and resort of the wealthy Chania residents, Chalepa, which was like a small annex of Europe.

In Chalepa there were luxurious and beautiful buildings, as well as the consulates of the Great Powers. And also the school of San Joseph, where the nuns taught French and good manners to rich girls, and the elegant chapel of St. Mary Magdalene in the blooming gardens.

This was also the residence of the High Commissioner, who, at the beginning of the century, came into conflict with Venizelos and dismissed him as Councillor of Justice in March 1901. After the Therissos Movement of 1905, in which Venizelos, as is well known, took the lead, Prince George was forced to leave Crete one night in 1906 from the coast of Tabakaria.

In an old newspaper it is said: ‘The walk to Chalepa is the best thing. Here new and gardened mansions, with the vast sea as a courtyard. Here, too, the prince’s elegant palace. Closed. Perhaps a gardener might once set foot in the orchard to tend the orange trees and a few flowers. Next door, almost adjacent, is the house of Venizelos. They are sullenly silent towards each other. The moon pours out her pale light from above. From a small hill the same shows the deserted shore, where a ruler with a night-light was driving the dock of his exile… Chalepa, European in all its qualities, European houses, European consulates, European clubs and European villas. Everything one could wish for in an ideal stay is to be found in Chalepan, greenery and beaches. The former predominates all around in the graceful houses. The second manifests itself in the noise of its waves and the lullaby of its flutes. Blessed is the man who lives in Crete and sits in Chalepa…’.

The house of the politician Manousos Koundouros

This two-story single-family house was built in 1909 under the design and supervision of Michalis Savvakis and is located at the end of Heroon Polytechniou Street, right above the sea. The calm, almost cubic volume of the house is broken up by the small north balcony and the westward slope of the floor plan accentuated by the light northwestern end of the parapet on the roof, traces of the almost always necessary tower of Savvakis.

The layout in the floor plan is typical, almost as in all the houses – offices of the deputies designed by Savvakis, with the second entrance for the free movement of the people of the house, the reception areas and the office on the ground floor, and the special rooms on the first floor. On the façade, the central axis of the entrance and the balcony is characteristically built with columns and pediment ending in lion heads and carved cantons of white limestone. The designs of the stone carvings surrounding the circle with the date of the house’s construction betray the influence of the West on Michalis Savvakis.

The exterior triple coatings with straight dark lines have a warm colour tone between ochre and brick red. The courtyard windows are among the most beautiful in the city with complex woven railings, and there is open space around the house with the necessary palm trees.

Despotico

Built at the beginning of the 19th century by the engineer Michalis Savvakis, this building initially functioned as the engineer’s home and office. Its design and supervision was done by Michalis Savvakis himself.

The building, designed in the villa type and on three levels, is influenced by foreign standards, keeping the form of a tower. It is surrounded by a garden with palm trees. In 1917, it was sold to the monastic committee and since then it has been used as the residence of the Metropolitan of Kydonia and Apokoronos.

Despite the many damages it has suffered over the years, including bombings during the last war, the building retains its architectural distinctiveness and remains one of the most characteristic buildings of the city.

Andreas Papandreou Street (ex Republic)

Andrea Papandreou Street (formerly Demokratias) stretches and starts from Municipal Market Square to Eleftherias Square near the Administrative and Court Building. Along its route it meets the Municipal Garden and the Park of Peace and Friendship, surrounded by neoclassical and modern buildings, and is a lively and busy shopping street with high-quality clothing stores and other products, offering attractive shopping options for residents and visitors of Chania.

Tzanakaki Street

Tzanakaki Street starts from the west side of the National Bank of Greece and ends at the Municipal Garden of Chania. It is a busy street distinguished by its architectural elements from the 19th and 20th centuries. On its route, neoclassical buildings impress, such as the Papadopetrou mansion and the OAED building, as well as more modern constructions, such as the OTE and Financial Services building.

The street starts opposite the Municipal Market, with the National Bank of Greece on the corner on the left. As we go up Tzanakaki Street, we meet the building of the Economic Services of the prefecture and the OTE telecommunications center on the left. A little further up on the left, is the Municipal Garden of Chania, with a cafe in the shade of the trees and a view of the animals and the summer cinema. Opposite the entrances of the Garden, the multi-cinema “Ellinis” stands out.

Heroon Polytechniou Street

Heroon Polytechniou Street starts right in front of the Administrative – Court Building and is a pleasant street for walking towards the sea where it ends. If one stands at its end, one faces a straight road, which at its southern end has as a background the Administrative – Judicial Building, the Holy Church of Peter and Paul and the snow-capped White Mountains.

Despite the fact that the neoclassical and older buildings have given way to modern apartment buildings, the residential area of Heroon Polytechneiou Street (formerly the “Bolari” area), gives a pleasant picture of life in Chania, as it has always been an ideal place to live.

Heroon Polytechniou Street is full of cute cafes and restaurants. Just before the end of the road, on the right is the neoclassical building of the Health Services of the prefecture and the “Attikon” cinema.

Municipal Market

The Municipal Market of Chania, the huge building of 4,000 m2, in a surrounding area of 17,200 m2, is the “heart” of the city. An original and studied building, it is not only a center of great business activity, but also a tangible image of the concept of the Market of Ancient Greece.

On 6/13/1908, the issue of building a Municipal Market was discussed in plenary session of the Municipal Council. The Municipal Council votes on the proposal, which was in direct connection with other projects of regeneration and beautification of the city. On 8/8/1908, the committee responsible for the Market announced to the Council the final design of the building, the proposals for related works (demolition of the fortress, filling of the moat, compensation to the owners, construction of sheds, etc.) as well as the budget of the project (320,000 Drach.). In February 1909 the engineer K. Drandakis perfects the plans of the Market and thus completes the relevant file that the engineer Mich. Savvakis. On 7/12/1910 the Bank of Crete approves the provision of a loan of 300,000 drachmas. with a mortgage the building itself and the future rents of the shops and on 23/12/1910 an auction is held for the execution of the project.

The foundation is carried out unofficially by the Mayor Emm. Mountakis on 14/8/1911 and the work begins immediately. In the second half of 1913, the main project was completed and the Agora unofficially began to operate from 1/11/1913. Its official opening was made by the then Prime Minister of Greece, Eleftherios Venizelos, on December 4, 1913, that is, three days after the official ceremony of the Union of Crete with Greece.

The Market’s operating regulations were drawn up and the association “New Market of Chania” was formed by the shopkeepers. The spaces outside were expropriated and shaped differently, while other similar projects were also carried out. Mainly, butchers’ shops were housed in the eastern and western parts, fish shops at the end of the western portico and fruit and vegetable shops in the north and south. A few days before the Battle of Crete, in May 1941, the anti-aircraft shelter on the southeast side of the Agora was also completed. During the Occupation and despite the dynamic reaction of the then Mayor N. Skoula, the Germans occupied the entire transept, isolated it and used it for the needs of the occupying army.

In 1980, the Municipal Market of Chania was classified by the Ministry of Culture as a preserved monument.

The Venetian Walls

In 1252 the city and prefecture had been divided into 90 “cavalries”, which were given to the Venetian colonists with the express obligation to rebuild the city of Chania. They repaired the wall of the Castle and organized the town within its boundaries. Inside the fortified enclosure that was repaired, a new town was built with a modern layout. Within this new city, temples, large public and private buildings were built or repaired according to the trends of Venetian Mannerism.

Chania is developing into the second city of the “Kingdom of Crete”, it is the seat of the Rector and the Latin Bishop. The city and its port form the center of a rich agricultural region with economic and cultural links to Venice. The evolution of the art of war with the discovery of gunpowder and the spread of the Ottoman Empire in the area of the Eastern Mediterranean were the main reasons that forced the Venetians to proceed with new fortification projects in the city of Chania, but also in strategic points close to it.

Gradually, the city expanded outside the old fortress, so that its new and modern fortification was considered necessary. Thus, in the mid-16^th century the city was once again fortified to the plans and supervision (from 1538) of the famous Veronese fortificationist Michele Sanmichielli with modern walls and a moat – but which was never filled with water. The wall was given a rectangular shape, parallel to the sea, and each of its four corners was reinforced with a heart-shaped bastion. The walls with the moat also included the harbor and were built with the most modern concepts of fortification technique at the time. The fortifications of Chania were made mainly from local resources and with compulsory chores of the villagers.

There were three gates in the walls. One to the east, the Gate of Sand (Porta Sabbionara) in Kum-Kapi, which had been so named from the sandy soil of the area. The “portaki”, a small gate in the San Salvatore bastion, at the end of today’s Theotokopoulos street, which served the military service, but also the Jews who lived in the Obriaki district. The main gate to the south of the wall was the Porta Retimiota, (fortress gate), the one from where the road to Rethymno started. Later it was called Kale-Kapisi and it opened at sunrise and closed at sunset.

In later years the city suffocates within the walls, while a new state begins to form and develop from outside. During the years of the Cretan State, the need to unite the two parts of the city led to the demolition of parts of the walls and the creation of cracks in Kryo Vrysali, in Kale-Kapisi and to the east of Piatta Forma, towards the building of the current 1^st Gymnasium.

The city of Chania at the beginning of the 20^th century “unable to develop within the narrow space of the fortress it has narrow streets and crevices. But due to the demolition of part of the wall, they found a free exit to the surroundings, where many buildings were erected on a more regular plan. The city of Chania surrounded by walls built by the Venetians in 1252, part of which collapsed already under the Autonomous Cretan State…”. The walls continued to be demolished, while the ditches were used to grow vegetables for the city’s nutritional needs.

Parts of the walls are still preserved today, while recently attempts are being made to restore and highlight them, so that their urban fabric can once again appear in the heart of the city.

Neptune and Amymoni Mosaic

Floor of a private residence in Nea Katastimata that represented the ancient god Neptune, protector of the sea, freeing the Nymph Amymoni, daughter of the king of Argos Danaus, from the hands of Satyrous (mid 3rd century AD). Today it is exhibited in the Archaeological Museum of Chania.

HISTORICAL OVERVIEW