The history of the Mediterranean resort of Chania dates back to the times of Ancient Greece, when the city of Sidonia existed on the northern coast of Crete. Then came the era of the Venetians and Genoese, the city turned into the residence of the head of the administration of the island and became an important center of a flourishing agricultural region. Contact with Venice contributed to the development of culture and crafts, and the priests and artists who came to Crete and fled in the 15th century. from the fallen Constantinople, contributed to the formation of Chania as the educational center of the island. Then the Ottoman hordes reached Crete, and after a two-month siege the city fell. That era left mosques, baths and fountains as attractions. In short, you will find what to see in Chania, and you will be able to make your holiday program rich and varied.
TOP 10 attractions of Chania
Cathedral
The main temple in Chania is dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary. You can look at the beautiful basilica, built in 1860, on Halidon Street in the old town.
Earlier on the site of the cathedral there was a temple of the XIV century, turned by the Ottomans into a factory for the production of soap. Legend says that in the warehouse inside the old church, a candle always burned in front of the image of the Virgin. The Turkish Pasha who ruled Chania, tolerant of Christians, allowed this. It was he who began the construction of a new church when his child nearly died, falling into a well near the temple. Pasha, full of grief, turned to the Virgin Mary with a request to save his son, vowing to return the church to Christians.
The basilica is decorated with icons made by recognized Greek masters G. Kalliterakis, G. Stavrakis and E. Tripolitaki.
Holy Trinity Monastery
In the center of the Akrotiri peninsula, near Chania, there is a stavropegic monastery belonging to the Orthodox Church of Constantinople. Its history began in the 17th century, when two brothers from the old Venetian family of Zangaroli founded a monastery on the site of the former temple.
The main church of the monastery was built in the Byzantine style. On the facade, decorated with Ionic columns, there is an inscription in Greek, indicating the date of the consecration of the temple - 1631. The bell tower was added much later - in the second half of the 19th century. At the same time, a seminary began to work in the monastery.
The attention of tourists is attracted by the monastery museum, where icons painted by the great masters of the Middle Ages are kept. Particularly valuable exhibits are the image of John the Evangelist of the 15th century. and the icon "The Last Judgment", belonging to the brush of Immanuel Skordiles and dating from the 17th century.
Monastery of Gouverneto
Another male abode of the Constantinople Orthodox Church on the Akrotiri Peninsula is located 18 km northeast of Chania. During the tour, you can look at the monastery building, built in the style inherent in Venetian fortifications. The monastery resembles a medieval fortress with high powerful walls and observation towers. Its construction began in the first third of the 16th century.
On the plan, the cloister is a rectangle measuring 40x50 m, the perimeter of which is formed by a two-story building. It houses cells, utility rooms and a refectory and is home to about 50 monks. There is a temple in the center of the monastery courtyard.
Almost all public spaces are accessible to visit.
Kyuchuk Hasan Mosque
Walking along the coast of Chania harbor, you will surely see one of the few mosques that have survived from the Ottoman rule. It is called Kuchuk Hasan or the Janissary Mosque and is considered a symbol of Islamic art of the Renaissance in the city and its surroundings. The mosque was named in honor of Kuchuk Hasan, who served as the first commander of the city's Turkish garrison.
The Janissary Mosque was built in the second half of the 17th century. The author of the project was an Armenian architect, according to whose drawings a similar mosque was built in the Cretan village of Spagnakos.
The cube-shaped structure is covered with a large hemisphere, around which there are six more small domes. Unfortunately, the minaret has not survived. It was destroyed in the 1920s. during the expulsion of the Turks from Crete. The further fate of the mosque was not too simple: warehouses were equipped in it, and then the office of a tourist organization was opened.
Crete Maritime Museum
It would be surprising if at the seaside resort, and even on the Greek island, there was no museum dedicated to the sea. Chania will not disappoint you and will offer you to see the most interesting exhibition, founded in 1973 and telling about the history of sailing.
The collection is divided into several parts dedicated to different eras. You will find rarities from the Bronze Age, exhibits dedicated to navigation in the Middle Ages and modern naval paraphernalia:
- The first floor is devoted to models of old ships. Here are the ships on which they went to sea during the era of the Venetian kingdom, the Genoese rule and the Ottoman raids.
- Visitors are presented with a model of a fortified seaside town that recreates a real port from the era of the Kingdom of Candia. This was the name of Crete, which was part of the Venetian colony at the beginning of the 13th century. At that time, the military infrastructure was rapidly developing on the island and it was thanks to the powerful navy of the Venetians that the Turks could not take Chania for a long time.
- The second floor is dedicated to the current state of the Greek navy and invites visitors to get acquainted with the models of modern ships.
- Part of the collection tells the story of the German invasion of the island during World War II.
The Chania Maritime Museum is very popular with tourists.
Samaria gorge
Samaria National Park near Chania is a popular natural attraction. This gorge is considered the largest in the Old World: its length is 13 km, and its width reaches 300 m in places. In the narrowest places, the walls of the gorge are only 3-4 m apart from each other.
The canyon was inhabited by people long before the onset of a new era, as evidenced by the found ruins of temples and sanctuaries dedicated to Apollo and Artemis. In the city of Tara, which existed in the IV century. BC, minted their own coins. It flourished during the Roman rule. During the years of the Ottoman yoke, Christians settled in the canyon, and during the Nazi occupation in Samaria, fighters of popular resistance were hiding.
Today, the unique nature of Crete is protected in the national park. The most valuable species of flora and fauna: the Cretan cypress and the Kri-kri mountain goat, which are not found anywhere else on the planet. Active travelers are offered tourist routes along the gorge.
Temples of the Samaria Gorge
Until the formation of the national park in 1962, there was a residential village Samaria in the canyon. Near it in the XIII-XIV centuries. the Church of St. Mary was built. You can still see the temple today if you go hiking along the bottom of the gorge. The church is located approximately in the middle of the route. On one of the walls there is an inscription with a clearly distinguishable date "1379". The frescoes that have been restored are dated 1740.
On the site of the destroyed ancient sanctuaries, presumably dedicated to Artemis and Apollo, the Church of St. Nicholas was built in the Middle Ages. Another temple is the Church of Christ, you will see a little off the tourist route.
Chania lighthouse
Among all the sights of Chania, its lighthouse stands out. One of the oldest in Europe, it was built during the Venetian rule at the end of the 16th century. In 1839, Muslims rebuilt it, and the lighthouse took the form of a minaret.
You can look at the Chania lighthouse in the old port at the end of the pier opposite the Firkas fortress. The twenty-meter tower is especially beautiful at night, when the backlight is turned on. The base of the lighthouse is octagonal, the middle tier has 16 edges, and the top is round. During the construction of the tower, natural stone was used, from which the Venetians traditionally erected fortification walls in the region.
Firkas fortress
The internal defensive walls of the Chania fortress first appeared in antiquity and were rebuilt during the era of the Byzantine rule on the island. External fortifications were built in the 16th century. already by the Venetians. Initially, the new inhabitants of the island settled under the protection of the ancient walls, but after some time they decided that the area of the city should be expanded. Three centuries later, a threat arose from the Ottoman Empire and a full-fledged fortress had to be built. So in the years 1620-1630. the walls and bastions of Firkas appeared.
The fortress was almost square in shape. Its corners were reinforced by several towers. The city could be reached through the gates of San Salvatore from the west, Rethymiota from the south and Sabbionara from the east. The height of the walls reached 20 m. They were surrounded by a fortress moat 60 meters wide. The depth of the ditch filled with water was at least 15 m.
Limnoupolis Water Park
The best place to spend a day with the whole family is Chania Water Park. It opened for the first time in 1997 and since then has enjoyed unchanging popularity among fans of water slides and dizzying attractions.
Aquapark "Limnoupolis" was built 8 km away. from the center of Chania. 65 thousand sq. m. you will find the most modern water activities, get an excellent boost of energy, enjoy delicious local cuisine in the restaurants of the complex and buy souvenirs as a keepsake of your vacation.
All rides in the park are certified in full compliance with European safety standards. The area for the little ones includes several children's pools with water slides and artificial waves. For older visitors, tunnels and slides are offered, the height difference at which reaches tens of meters. In the park, you can raft on an inflatable ring on a quiet river or jump from a bungee into a bubbling pool - it all depends on your preferences and your thirst for adrenaline.
Ticket prices: 25 and 18 euros for adults and children, respectively.
