Location on the Map

City map

Eleftheriou Venizelou Square,which the locals call Liondaria (Lions), is the best point to begin your tour of the city. In the centre of this small triangular square, the Morosini Fountain has been preserved in its original position - this is the famous

fountain which was built in 1628 by the Venetian Governor of the city, Francisco Morozini (a different person from the man who defended the city against the Turkish siege).

This is the heart of the city, a meeting-place and the centre of traffic 24 hours a day. Most of the shops around the square are patisseries and cafeterias that are always full. Here you will find the celebrated bougatsa (a sweet pie) shop “Kir-Kor” which, truly, makes excellent bougatsa but serves tiny portions and charges a lot for. In the far part of the square are the little bars frequented by young people.

Directly opposite the Liondaria is the Loggia, the Society of Venetian nobles which today has been restored and houses the Town Hall's Council Chamber. The Town Hall itself is housed in the restored building of the Venetian Barracks, next door to the Loggia..

Enclosed within the northern wall of the Town Hall is a sculpture which in the old days adorned another of the Venetians' fountains, the Sangrento Fountain that was situated at the north-west corner of the Loggia. Many years ago, opposite the Loggia and facing the Morozini fountain was the Palazzo Ducale (Ducal Palace), the seat of the Venetian Duke and his Council, a most elegant building of which nothing remains. The third building that completed the nucleus of Venetian Cadia was the church of St. Mark built in 1239, i.e. in the very early years of Venetian rule. The Patron Saint of the Venetians had a very elegant church here in Candia, adorned with remarkable frescoes which of course the Turks destroyed while converting the building into a mosque. But, in 1915, Mohammed was evicted and the new owner (the Borough of Iraklio) restored it to its original form. Today it is used as a hall for exhibitions and functions.

Behind the Town Hall lies a lovely paved square, in the centre of which is the church of St. Titus. St Titus was a disciple of St. Paul, the first Bishop of Crete and patron saint of the island (but not a very effective one,judging by the sufferings the Cretans endured during the last fifteen centuries!.) The first church to be dedicated to him was in Gortyna, but the Arabs destroyed it in 824. When the Venetians threw out the Arabs and Chandaka was reborn, a magnificent church to St. Titus was built here at the end of the 10th century, as a replacement for the church that had been destroyed at Gortyna, where the seat of the Diocese of Crete and the relics of the Saint were transferred. When the Venetians came, they gave the Saint equal honours with their own official patron saint, St. Mark, in accordance with the proverb "don't put all your eggs in one basket!" Indeed, in 1363, they dared to give him fist place of honour - they lowered the flag of the Republic of St. Mark and raised onthe bell tower of the church the flag of the Republic of St. Titus. St. Mark and his faithful representative on earth (Venice) did not stand for this and they crushed such rebellion with terrible bloodshed. From that time on, St Titus moved into second place until 1670, when Turks dealt with him and made him unrecognisable. He kept his new name and role (Vizir Mosque) until 1923, when he passed again into Greek hands and all the Moslem alterations were removed. In 1966, after being given 300 years of hospitality in Christian Venice, the head of St. Titus returned to the church (and is exhibited today at a popular shrine.)

Opposite the Liontaria is the pedestrian Daedalus Street which has the best clothes shops in the city. This pedestrian road ends in Plateia Eleftherias (Freedom Square) where the Archaeological Museum of Iraklio is situated. This museum was built between 1937-1940 on exactly the spot where the Catholic church of St. Francis used to be. This church was the jewel of Iraklio, the most magnificent ecclesiastical

edifice built by the Venetians during all the years of their presence in Crete. It sustained great damage in the earthquake of 1508, but the Venetians restored it immediately. But when the Turks came, they allowed the church to fall into ruins and later took its stones to rebuild the Vizir Mosque (today's St. Titus). One part of the Church building remained standing, however, which was thoughtlessly demolished by the Greeks so that they could build the new museum. At the time it was built, the arhaeological museum of Iraklio was a building of high specifications. Today, it is a heavy, dark and graceless building, a real grave for the treasures it houses. Meagre lighting from neon lamps on the ceiling, antiquated show-cases with dusty exhibits, only a few inadequate explanatory plaques, no photographs, no repreductions and no drawings. The only answer is to knock it down and build another in its place, one worthy of housing the treasures of the Minoan civilization. If you come here in July or August, the thing that will tire you most are the crowds, every day and hour that the museum is open (Tuesday - Sunday 8am - 7pm; closed on Mondays). Even if you come here in a quieter month, you will need at least three visits and very good preparation to be able to see these treasures in the way you should. A good guide book is also absolutely essential (you wil find many in the museum shop), otherwise you will feel lost.

Directly opposite the museum is the EOT (Greek Tourist Organisation) Information Office. From the Archaeological Museum, Beaufort Street takes you to the jetty where the coastal steamers dock and the coast road, while Democratia Street comes out east of the walls and is the main road to

Knossos. In the opposite direction from Democratia Street lies Dikaiosyni Street where the tourist police and the police station are situated. Behind the police station, on Zographou Street, is the Central Post Office of Iraklio. . 25th August Street goes past the front of the Liondaria; this street was so named in memory of the hundreds of Irakliots massacred by the Turks on 25th August 1898. If you follow this road, you come out on the Square of 18 Englishmen (also victims of the Turks that sad August) and now you are in the Venetian Harbour. The Venetian fortress Rocca al Mare stands proudly at the northern edge of the harbour. It was first built in the middle of the 13th century, but was destroyed in the earthquake of 1303. The building you see today was constructed in 1523, as the inscription over its entrance bears witness.

North of the Liontaria, diectly behind the shops on the square, is Theotokopoulos (El Greco) Park, one of the few green corners inside the walls of Iraklio. The central offices of the OTE (Greek Telecommunications Organisation) are here, and these are now used only

by the locals to pay their telephone bills as, to make telephone calls (even

long-distance) there are dozens of card phones in every corner of the city. Minotavrou Street begins here which, after a circuitous route, brings you to the History and Folklore Museum of Crete.

The History museum is housed in a wonderful neoclassical house donated for this purpose in 1952 by Andreas Kalokerinos, a rich, distinguished Irakliot. This exceptional museum is a treasury of extremely precious historic objets d'art, which are exhibited in beautiful showcases with correct lighting and many explanatory plaques in both Greek and English. In direct contrast to the suffocating wretchedness of the Archaeological Museum, here you can take an exciting journey through history, from the first Byzantine years in Crete (330 AD) to the Second World War. You do not need a guide for this Museum. Just come as early in the morning as you can (it is open Monday - Friday from 9am to 5pm and Saturday, from 9 am to 2pm) to enjoy at your leisure this journey through history.

If you are interested in iconography, apart from the wonderful portable icons and the frescoes (removed from the walls) that you can see at the History Museum, it is worth seeing the icon collection of the Cretan School at the Church of St. Catherine, which contains six works by the most famous iconographer of the 16th century, Michael Damaskinos. The church was built in the 15th century and it belonged to the Sinai monastery.

It has great estates, thanks to which it was able to maintain a very active shool of Higher Education right throughout Venetian rule, And this turned out important theologians, philosophers, writers and painters. Vitzentzos Kornaros (the author of Erotokritos), Michael Damaskinos andDominicos Theotokopoulos (El Greco) studied here.

In the same square you can see the bulky and rather graceless church of St. Minas, which is the seat of the Diocese of Crete. It was built at the end of the last century and it is said to hold 8,000 people. A rather nice little 17th Century church, also dedicated to St. Minas, continues to live in its heavy shadow, but unfortunately this is locked most of the time.

South of the Liontaria, 25th August Street ends after a few metres in Nikiforou Foka Square (it is not exactly a suare, but a traffic hub). From here you can walk to the pedestrian shopping street, 1866 Street, to buy fresh fruit and Cretan products from the popular greengrocers and grocers, while on the neighbouring precincts (on the Grousouzadika as the loals call them) you can find many popular tavernas open from morning until late at night and serving charcoal-cooked meat and dishes stewed in flat pans. On the southern edge of 1866 street is Vitzentzou Kornarou Square. You can drink water here from the oldest fountain in Iraklio, the famoun Bembo Fountain (18), the work of the Venetian architect Zuanne Bembo in 1588, in which is embedded a headless statue of the Roman Period from lerapetra. If you prefer a coffee or a soft drink, there is a monumental Turkish fountain next door that has been converted into a refreshment bar!

The most impressive monument in Iraklio, however, is its Venetian Walls. You can make your first visit on your motorcycle, by riding around the internal ring road which is made up of Beaufort, Pediados, Plastira and Makariou Streets. But it is better to leave your motorcycle and walk around or on top of the walls, to be able to see at close hand this gigantic work which has been preserved in excellent condition despite the savage waves of attaks it received for centuries. Stand for a little while on its south-west rampart , the Martinego rampart, as the Venetians called it, in front of the grave where Nikos Kazantzakis is buried (one of the top Greek writers, known throughout the world mainly for his novel “The Life and Times of Alexis Zorbas”). The following words are engraved on his plain gravestone column: “I hope for nothing, I fear nothing, I am free”

The offices of A.M.S. Iraklio (the Iraklio Association of Mountaineers and Skiers are at the third floor of 53 Dikaiosynis Street. Before you attempt an ascent to the summit of Psiloritis, it is better to ask for information and maps from the experienced Iraklio Mountaineers, who gather at their Association meeting-room daily between 8:30 - 10:30 pm except for Saturdays and Sundays. If you are lucky and happen to choose the days of one of their organised excursions, you will have the chance to use their new Refuge, “Prinos”, on the eastern slopes of Psiloritis at a height of 1,100 m (the path starts at the village of Ano Asites). If you are a big hiking group, get in touch with them ten days in advance, so they can give you keys to the refuge and relevant instructions.