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Opening hours
for all museums unless stated otherwise: CHANIA
The
Archaeological Museum of Chania is housed in the Venetian church
of San Francesco. Its exhibits from western Crete and other areas
date from the Neolithic to the Roman era, and include idols, statues,
inscriptions, weapons, pottery, sealstones, coins, jewellery, etc.
Historical
and Folk Art Museum of Gavalohori. The Museum was founded in 1967
and was inaugurated in September 1993. It is housed in a building which
is a characteristic example of local traditional architecture and stands
on two levels. There is a ground floor with a verandah, an inside courtyard,
an arched house proper, with its utility areas and a first floor with
an "odas" or large room. Part of the building was built during the venetian
occupation, while the first floor was built during the Ottoman rule.
The building served as a private home until the end of the 19th century
and was donated to the community of Gavalohori by George and Maria Stylianaki.
The objects in it are displayed according to modern miseological concepts,
with explanatory texts, photographs, drawings and models, and new exhibits
are added each year. The Museum is divided into seven room, according
to the following units: The Arched House, Silk, Pottery, Lace-making,
Masonary and Stone carving, Church and Woodcarving. In the historical
section of the Museum are exhibited guns and swords from the lengthy
struggles of the Cretans for their freedom; also a small part of the
collection of paintings and historical lithographs in which are depicted
same of the most significant events of the history of Greece and Crete,
coins (Roman, Byzantine, Venetian, Turkish, coins of the Cretan State
and Syracusan coins from the period (405-345 BC). Also medals won on
the fields of battle by the citizens of Gavalohori. RETHIMNON
The
Archaeological Museum of Rethimnon is housed in the Venetian
Loggia. Among the exhibits of the museum. there are interesting archaeological
finds from the region, as well as a fine coin collection. The museum
contains the following collections: Late Neolithic (3500-2900 B.C.)
and Early Minoan (2800-2100 B.C.) finds from the caves Gerani, Melidoni,
Margeles and Helenes finds from the buildings at Apodoulou, Monastiraki
and the peak sanctuary at Vrysinas, dated to the Middle Minoan period
(2100-1600 B.C.) Late Minoan finds (1600-1100 B.C.) from the cemeteries,
the most representative being that of Armenoi finds of the Geometric
(1000-700 B.C.) and Archaic (700-500 B.C.) periods from Eleutherna and
Axos finds from Stavromenos and Argyroupolis (ancient Lappa) dated to
the Classical, Hellenistic and Roman periods. The
L. Kanakakis Gallery - Centre for Contemporary Art - was founded
in 1992 by the Borough of Rethimnon. It houses a collection of approximately
200 pieces of modern Greek art, including around 70 painting by Lefteris
Kanakakis, the Rethimno painter. In 1995 the gallery and the town of
Rethimnon became part of the National Cultural Network set up to promote
contemporary visual arts within an international framework.
HERAKLION
The
Archaeological Museum of Heraklion is one of the most important
museums in Greece. Here are assembled almost all the finds from the
Minoan era. Pottery, stone carvings, sealstones, statuettes, gold, metalwork,
the marvelous frescoes from the Royal and Little Palaces and villas
of the wealthy, and finally, the unique painted limestone sarcophagus
from the Agia Trias. It houses the most important and representative
finds of the Minoan civilization. The foundation of the first museum
(1904-1912) is owed to the efforts of two Cretan archaeologists, Joseph
Chatzidakis and Stephanos Xanthoudides, Ephors of the Archaeological
Service. It housed the valuable finds from Crete until 1937, when the
construction of the modern, antiseismic building was begun. Thanks to
the efforts of Prof. Nicolaos Platon, the treasures of the museum survived
during World War II, although the building was seriously damaged.
In
the Historical Museum of Heraklion, exhibits from the Byzantine,
Venetian and Turkish periods and historical documents of the more recent
Cretan history are shown. Except these, a rich collection of folk art
consisting of local costumes, textiles, wood carving and embroidery
are exhibited here, as well as a representation of a tradition Cretan
house. The Museum was founded in 1953 and includes the following collections
of exhibits: 1. Byzantine-Mediaeval collection, Byzantine, Venetian
and Turkish sculptures and inscriptions, wall paintings (13th-16th cent.),
sacred vessels and vestments, coins, jewellery and miniature work of
the Byzantine and Venetian period. Also the only existing painting in
Crete by Domenicos Theotokopoulos (El Greco) entitled "View of Mount
Sinai and the Monastery". 2.Historical Collection: Relics of the Cretan
revolutions of the 19th century and of the Cretan State (1898-1913).
Flags, arms, portaits of heroes of the patriotic struggles, jewellery,
engravings, furniture, costumes, maps, memontoes. Also historic documents
and a collection of photographs. 3. Folk art collection: Hundreds of
representative samples of Cretan folk art(women and embroidered articles,
Lace, costimes, jewellery, miniature work, musical instruments etc).
Reproduction of the interior of an old Cretan rule house. 4. Nikos Kazantzakis
Room: the desk, library, personal mementoes and manuscripts of many
of the works of the great writer. 5. Tsouderos Room: the desk, library
and personal mementoes of the Prime Minister of the Battle of Grete,
engravings, maps, rare editions and a collection of Cretan postage stamps.
KAZANTZAKIS
MUSEUM. The Kazantzakis Museum is situated at Varvaroi, approximately
20 km. to the south of Heraklion. It was founded to preserve the work
and to record the life of the Cretan writer. It includes some of the
writer's personal belongings and those of his family, documents, letters,
the first Greek editions of his books, and translations in 49 languages
in 54 countries, photographs, busts, works of art, as well as documents
referring to stagings of his theatrical works and of novels adapted
for the theatre, photographs, posters, programmes, models of stage settings
and costumes as they have been presented in performances all over the
world. There is also radio and television material as well as a collection
of press reviews which refer to Kazantzakis and have been published
in Greek and foreign newspapers. Finally, there is an audiovisual presentation
in five languages - Greek, French, English, German and Dutch to illustrate
the development of this universal writer's life and career. ADDRESS:
N.Kazantzakis Museum, Varvaroi (Myrtia), 701 00 Heraklion, Crete Collection
of St Catherine of Sinai. The Monastery of
St Catherine (Aghia Aikaterine), which is a metochi (dependency) of
the monastery of the same name on Mount Sinai, was an important cultural
and artistic centre from the 15th to the 17th century -the period between
the fall of Contantinople and the capture of Chandax (Herakleion) by
the Ottoman Turks (1669). The katholikon is preserved and now houses
a collection of representative works of the Cretan renaissance, prominent
amongst which are icons painted by Michael Damaskenos. The display also
includes wall-paintings, manuscripts, religious vestments, liturgical
vessels, and other treasures. There are the following collections: Collection
of icons of the Cretan School. Collection of ecclesiastical books. Collection
of vestments. Wall-painting fragments.
Municipal
Museum of the Battle of Crete and the National Resistance. The Museum
was created by the Municipality of Herakleion, following the organization
of an exhibition of documents of the period 1941-1945, on the occasion
of the celebration on the 50th anniversary of the Battle of Crete(1941).
It is housed in a large room in a building in the centre of the town.
Among the Museum's exhibits are thousands of authentic photographs,
paintings and drawings of the Battle of Crete and the national resistance,
about two hundred books, monographs, essays on the historic events from
1941 to 1945, hundreds of documents and a great many newspaper cuttings.
The Museum also includes a variety of objects related to the war (arms,
accessories, uniforms, items of everyday use etc.). In addition, the
museum also operates as a research centre thanks to a team of researchers
and scientists who have undertaken to collect archival material from
ten countries, to translate war documents of the 1940-1945 period, as
well as to write about the Battle of Crete.
The
Natural History Museum of Crete (NHMC) offers the visitors a unique
chance of a rich experience on the natural environment of Crete and
its distinctiveness, as it reveals from the ecologically and culturally
complex landscape of the Eastern Mediterranean. In suitably arranged
exhibition area of 800 sq.m., with realistic models of biotopes, animal
and plant collections, as well as plenty of photo material, the visitor
discovers the natural beauty of Crete and continental Greece. Forests,
phryganic and maquis vegetation, marshes, caves, rocky and sandy beaches,
mountain massifs as well as special presentations on threatened animals
(sea mammals, birds, etc), are some of the topics of the permanent exhibition. AGIOS NIKOLAOS
IERAPETRA
Archaeological
Museum of Ierapetra. The museum was founded at the end of the 19th
century, during the Turkish occupation of Crete and was housed in several
buildings in the past. Today it is housed in the building of the Commercial
Ottoman School, which is protected by a preservation order, and has
been ceded to the Ministry of Culture by the Municipality of Ierapetra.
The collections include: Minoan art: painted sarcophagi, lamps, Late
Minoan III (1400-1200 B.C.) vases, mostly stirrup jars and kraters.
Geometric figurines and vases (9th-8th century B.C.) Archaic art (mostly
figurines and relief plaques) of the late 7th-6th centuries B.C. Classical
and Hellenistic vases and figurines (end of 1st century B.C. - 4th century
A.D.) Roman reliefs and statues Funerary and votive inscriptions of
Greek and Roman times. PREVELI Museum
of the Preveli Monastery. There are the following collections of
the Preveli Monastery Collection of icons. Collection of ecclesiastical
garments, collection of ecclesiastical vessels and collection of heirlooms. FESTOS Museum
of Cretan Ethnology. Situated 2 km from the Minoan palace of Phaestos,
in the traditional settlement of Voroi. The exhibition was inaugurated
in 1988 and was awarded a prize in 1992 by the Council of Europe. The
exhibition, which is based on the museological model of G. H. Riviere,
includes objects pertaining to the traditional everyday life in Crete.
It is divided into 7 sections under the following headings: Food, Architecture,
Weaving, Production, Transport, Customs and Traditions, Social Organization.
In the Museum a Research Centre of the Cretan ecosystem is in operation,
studying the traditional human activities from the Middle Ages to our
day, through the historical and social developments of Crete, the political
history of the general area and the geophysical enviroment of the island.
To date, 14 volumes have been published on subjects referring to the
island's architecture, traditional crafts, economy etc. ASSI GONI Museum
of the Gonia Monastery. The Museum owns the following collections:
Collection of icons. Collection of books and manuscripts. Collection
of liturgical vestments and Collection of heirlooms. |
Thanks Kri Kri (UK) and Lars (Sweden) for your contributions!
Last update: 1 January, 2013 .
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