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Venice of the East" is regarded by many, and not unjustly, as the most beautiful city in Greece.

The picturesque city of Chania is the second largest city of Crete, after Heraklion, with more than 60,000 residents. Fortunately, it did not follow the same fate as the other cities of Crete, e.g. Heraklion, where the great Venetian and Ottoman monuments were destroyed for the sake of economic growth and "modernization". Instead, the Old Town and the Venetian Harbour have remained almost intact, giving the city a special Venetian character, unique in the Mediterranean. Thus, the visitors of Chania are attracted by the beauty of the scenic narrow streets, the imposing lighthouse at the entrance of the small harbor, and all the amazing monuments that make up the transcendent magic of Chania.

Chania is believed to be built on the site of the Minoan Kydonia, as shown by the excavations in Kastelli hill. Chania developed substantially in the Byzantine era when it was fortified. Later, the Venetians turned the city into a great castle with strong walls, for which you can read here. After the Sultan Abdul Mezit visited Crete in 1850 and decided to construct a naval base in the gulf of Souda, the capital of Crete was moved from Heraklion to Chania (till 1971). After the liberation of Crete from the Turks in 1898 and during the Cretan State autonomy, great buildings were built in the city and the suburb of Halepa. The glory of Chania reached its peak during the hoisting of the Greek flag in the fortress of Firkas in 1913, marking the final Union of Crete with Greece, after centuries of slavery. Chania played also an important role in the outcome of the struggle against the Germans in World War II, as the nearby airport of Maleme was the epicenter of the glorious Battle of Crete. Chania was the last European city to be liberated from the Germans in April 1945.

From Chania came Eleftherios Venizelos, the greatest politician of Greece, as with its successful policy as prime minister of Greece he managed to triple the territories of Greece in the early 20th century. The tombs of the Venizelos family are set in a magical site east of Chania, with panoramic views of the city.

Some attractions of Chania include the old town, the Venetian harbor with the Egyptian lighthouse, the mosque of Kucuk Hasan, the pedestrian road of Kum Kapi, the shipyards, the great Arsenal which houses the Center for Mediterranean Architecture, the central market, the hill of Kastelli with the old Palace and the Minoan settlement, the picturesque district of the Ottomans called Splantzia, the church of St. Rocco, the cathedral of Chania, the Archaeological Museum of Chania, the beachfront of Nea Chora district, the Maritime Museum of Crete in Fort Firkas, the Prefecture and the Courts, the graves of Venizelos family, the house of Venizelos in Halepa, the Allies' Cemetery in Souda, the Historical Archive of Crete, etc.

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Museum of Asia Minor

The Museum - Research and Study Center of the Asia Minor Culture in Chania was inaugurated in 2019 by the Association of Asia Minor of Chania "Agios Polykarpos" in memory of Anna Nikolidaki, in a building granted by the monastery of Agia Triada Tzagarolon.

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Church of St. Mary Magdalene in Halepa

The temple of Saint Maria Magdalene is located in Chalepa, the noble district of Chania that flourished in the 19th century, when Eleftherios Venizelos who lived here emerged as the most important leader of modern Greece.

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Historical Archive of Crete

The Historical Archive of Crete was established in 1920 in Chania and operated informally until 1928, when it was recognized as a public entity. Since 1943, it is a Public Service and operates as an annex to the General State Archives.

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Eleftherios Venizelos House at Halepa

Eleftherios Venizelos lived in his paternal house, in Chalepa (Chania), for more than thirty years, from 1880 to 1910, and occasionally, from 1927 to 1935. He was particularly attached to this house. It is the house where he spent his youth, he got married and had his two children, and where his wife died.

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Maritime museum of Crete

At the entrance of the port of Chania is situated the Venetian Fortress Firkas, where on December 1st 1913, the Greek flag has been hoisted, sealing the union of Crete with the motherland Greece.

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Municipal Art Gallery of Chania

The Municipal Art Gallery of Chania is housed in a typical commercial industrial building of neoclassical Greek architecture in the late 19th and early 20th century in Halidon street, on the way to the Venetian harbor of Chania and near the Archaeological Museum.

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Küçük Hasan Pasha Mosque (Giali Tzamisi)

The Küçük Hasan Pasha Mosque or Gialisi Tzami (mosque of the sea) is actually the only preserved mosque of the city of Chania. It was built on the site of a preexisting Christian temple after the conquest of Chania by the Ottomans in 1645, honoring Küçük Hasan Pasha.

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Catholic Church in Chania

The Roman Catholic Church in Chania (1842) meets in the town centre at Halidon 46, the road that leads from 1866 Square down to the harbour front, in a beautiful building just set back from the main frontage.

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Trimartiri Cathedral at Chania

The present Cathedral temple of "Eisodion" was built on the place of an older temple of "Theotokos" (Virgin Mary) Trimartiri, dating back to the 14th century. When the city of Chania was occupied by the Turks in 1645, the temple was converted into a soap-factory without altering its initial design.

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Santa Maria dei Miracoli

The Monastery of Santa Maria was built by Marussa Mengano in 1615 for the Dominican nuns of Chania. The Monastery was described by the Venetian Inquisitor G. Perpigano in 1620, who wrote that it had comfortable cells south from the catholic.

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Souda Bay War Cemetery

At Vlites position, by Souda port, in a beautifully landscaped scenery, there is the Souda Bay War Cemetery, where ceremonies take place every year in memory of the victims of the Second World War. Throughout the year, many visitors, mainly Australians and New Zealanders, visit this place.

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Church of Saint Ekaterini at Splantzia

The temple of Saint Ekaterini (Agia Aikaterini) is located in a short distance from Aghios Nikolaos of Splantzia. It is a two-aisled structure with a front that ends to a gable. The base of the bell-tower can still be seen in the yard. The door-frames are supported by chiseled pseudo-pillars and are crowned with gothic relief arches.

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Venizelos Graves

The graves of Venizelos are located in a very historic location of Chania, next to the Venetian church of Prophet Elias at position Froudia with panoramic views to Chania. The temple was originally dedicated to the Prophet Elisha, while in the 16th century the nave of the Prophet Elijah was added.

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Saint Rocco Church

At the northwestern edge of the square Splantzia we meet the church of San Rocco. The construction of the temple took place in 1630, probably after the outbreak of a plague, as Saint Rokkos was the protector against plague.

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Agii Anargiri Church at Chania

A parish temple located on the homonym district of Aghioi Anargyroi, which is recorded from 1583 in Venetian documents. Despite its small size, the district is represented in most of the city's images.

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