Heraklion (Greek Ηράκλειο, also transliterated as Heraklio, Iraklion or Irakleio) is the major city and capital of the largest Greek island of Crete. Its Archaeological Museum holds the remains of the 3000-year old Minoan civilization, which grew aroud the nearby legendary palace of Knossos (of Minotaur fame), as well as Byzantine churches and a well-preserved Venetian wall and fortress from the 15th century.
Understand
Heraklion (or Herakleion, Iraklio, Irakleion) is the capital of Crete and an industrialised city of around 155,000 residents.
Get in
Located in the middle of the island, all roads lead to Heraklion. Heraklion has a busy harbour and very busy airport and usually is the starting point of travels to Crete and nearby islands.
By plane
Olympic Airways and Aegean-Cronus Airlines fly in from Athens and other major Greek cities.
By bus
By boat
There are ferries from Athens (Piraeus), Thessaloniki and the Cyclades. The frequency is reduced in the winter.
By car
See
Landmarks
Museums and Galleries
Do
Buy
Eat
Budget
Mid-range
Drink
Sleep
Budget
"Hostels", there are not many hostels available in Heraklion, but if one searches hard he can find a couple of them. Both are situated in the city centre, only a 10' drive from the airport and a 5' drive from the port. One can go there by taxi. Most taxi drivers know where these hostels are. Actually, I can't think of a better way to find them. The taxi fare from the airport to the hostels at the city centre should cost less than 10 euros, and from the port less than 6 euros.
Mid range
Splurge
Stay safe
Get out
Heraklion or Iraklion (Greek: Ηράκλειο; Italian: Candia), is the largest city and the capital of Crete. It is also the 4th largest city in Greece. Its name is also spelled Herakleion (transliteration of ancient/Katharevousa name), or Iraklio, with other variants. For centuries, it was called Candia (Greek: Χάνδαξ or Χάνδακας, Kandiye).
Heraklion is the capital of Heraklion Prefecture. It has an international airport named after the writer Nikos Kazantzakis. The ruins of Knossos, which were excavated and restored by Arthur Evans, are nearby.
History
Heraklion is close to the ruins of the palace of Knossos, which in Minoan times was the biggest centre of population on Crete. So it is very likely that there was a port here as long ago as 2000 BC. There is however no archaeological evidence for such a port.
The present city of Heraklion was founded in 824 AD by the Saracens (an Arabic Muslim people). They built a moat around the city for protection, and named the city خندق , 'moat'. The Saracens allowed the port to be used as a safe haven for pirates, much to the annoyance of the nearby Byzantine Empire.
In 961, the Byzantines under the command of Nikiforos Fokas who was later to become a Byzantine Emperor,
attacked and defeated the city, slaughtered the Saracens, looted the city, and burned it to the ground. They remained in control
of the rebuilt Khandak for the next 243 years.
In 1204, the city was bought by the Venetians as part of a complicated political deal which involved among other things, the Crusaders of the Fourth Crusade restoring the deposed Byzantine emperor Isaac II Angelus to his throne. The Venetians improved on the ditch by building enormous fortifications, most of which are still in place, including a giant wall, in places up to 40m thick, with 7 bastions, and a fortress in the harbour. Khandak was renamed to Candia in Italian and became the seat of the Duke of Candia. As a result, the Venetian administrative district of Crete became known as "Regno di
Candia" (Kingdom of Candia). The city retained the name of Candia for centuries and the same name was often used to refer to the whole island of Crete as well. To secure their rule, Venetians began in 1212 to resettle families from Venice on Crete. The coexistence of two different cultures and the influence of Italian Renaissance lead to a flourishing of letters and the arts in Candia and Crete in general, that is today known as the Cretan Renaissance.
After the Venetians came the Turks of the Ottoman Empire. They besieged the city for 22 years in a bloody war in which 30,000 Cretans and 120,000 Turks died. The Venetians surrendered in 1669. Under the Ottomans, the city was known officially as Kandiye (again also applied to the whole island of Crete) but informally as Megalo Kastro 'Big Castle'. During the Ottoman period, the harbour silted up, so most shipping shifted to Hania in the west of the island.
In the period of autonomy under Great Power supervision (1898-1908), Candia was part of the British zone. With the rest of Crete, it became part of the Cretan State in 1908, and was incorporated into the Kingdom of Greece in 1913. Upon its union with Greece it was renamed "Heraklion", after the Roman port of Heracleum 'Heracles' city' whose exact location is unknown.
The biggest monument of the city is the Venetian medieval fortress Rocca al Mare (also known as Koules) located at the port.
Port
Heraklion is an important shipping port and ferry dock. The public can take ferries and boats from Heraklion to a multitude of destinations including Thira, Rhodes, Egypt, Haifa and mainland Greece.
Airport
Heraklion International Airport, or Nikos Kazantzakis Airport is located about 5km east of the city. The airport is named after Herkalion native Nikos Kazantzakis, a Greek writer and philosopher. It is the second busiest airport of Greece, mostly due to the fact that Crete is a major destination for tourists during summer. There are regular domestic flights to and from Athens, Thessaloniki and Rhodes with Aegean Airlines and Olympic Airlines. Cyprus Airlines flies to Larnaca via Rhodes. Furthermore, Sky Express operates direct flights to Aegean islands such as Rhodes, Santorini, Samos, Kos, Mytilini and Ikaria. During the summer period, traffic is intense and the flight destinations are from all over Europe (mostly Germany, UK, Italy and Russia). The airfield is shared with the 126 Combat Group of the Hellenic Air Force.
Sporting teams
The city hosts three soccer clubs:
Both OFI FC and Ergotelis FC use the Pankretio Stadium, which was built for the Athens 2004 Summer Olympics.
Famous natives
Heraklion has been the home town of some of Greece's most significant spirits, including the novelist Nikos Kazantzakis, the poet and Nobel Prize winner Odysseas Elytis and the world-famous Greek painter Domenicos Theotokopoulos (El Greco).
See also
References
External links
