Many famous painters came from this school and decorated the many churches of their island as well as numerous churches in many other parts of Greece.
Here are some of the multitudes of churches and monasteries scattered around the island.
This beautiful and imposing cathedral is located on a square east of Chalidon Street, in the town of Chania and has been built around the 13th century.
It possesses three naves which are respectively dedicated to the Presentation of the Holy Virgin, to Saint Nicholas and to the Three Hierarchs.
| The
Katholikon or Monastery of Saint John
the Hermit of the Stranger |
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This ruined monastery is the oldest one in Crete (built around the 11th century).
It is located nearby the Gouverneto Monastery, north of it, in a wild ravine. It has been entirely cut out of the rock, and only its western side has been built.
The cells are located around the courtyard and, to the left of the church, the entrance of the cave where Saint John the Hermit (Agios Ioannis Erimitis) lived and died can be found.
This cave is the bed of an old underground river and has a total area of 1500 square kilometres and a length of 135 metres.
Superb stalactites and stalagmites are decorating the cave and a basin full of water, believed to be holy water, is located in the entrance of the cave.
A huge stone bridge is leading to the Katholikon whose ruins, built of stones and marble, are really worth-seeing.
The Monastery of Chryssopigi (Golden Source) or Zoodochou Pigi (Life-giving Fountain) is situated on a small road right of the main road linking Chania to Souda, 3 kilometres south-east of the town.
It was founded by a family of Chania, called Chartofylakas Family, around the 17th century.
An inscription and the coat of arms of the family who founded it are adorning the gate of the monastery.
Surrounded by a huge wall, the monastery looks like a huge castle and in its centre stands the main church, with its three conchae and three domes, dedicated to Zoodochou Pigi.
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the Monastery of Agia Triada.
A fortress-like enclosure is surrounding the monastery that was built around 1548 and that has four square towers standing at its corners.
Fifty vaulted cells are included in the monastery. The main church (the katholikon) stands in the centre of the enclosure, has three round domes and is dedicated to the Presentation of the Holy Virgin.
From the façade of the church we understand the strong Renaissance Venetian influence with its sculptured decorations and its columns.
Two side chapels are framing the main church respectively dedicated to Saint John the Hermit or the Stranger (Agios Ioannis o Xenos or Erimitis) and to the Ten Saints (Agioi Deka).
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This lovely church, that looks more like a chapel, can be found behind the Odeon and is the most touching and charming church of the town of Chania.
It was the first cathedral of Crete and the only one to be functioning during Ottoman occupation. In the church visitors will find priceless and superb Byzantine frescoes and icons.
The Church of Saint Magdalene (Agia Magdalini in Greek) is located in the town of Chania, in the new neighbourhood of the Halepa quarter.
It has been built according to the Russo-Byzantine architectural style, in 1903, during the period when Prince George was high commissioner.
| The Monastery
of Agia Triada |
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The Monastery of Agia Triada (Holy Trinity) is situated 15, 5 kilometres north-east of Chania, nearby the village of Koumares, in the area of Akrotiri, surrounded by a landscape of an incredible natural beauty.
The main church of the monastery has been built in the shape of a cross (cruciform), and has a round dome and two side chapels which are respectively dedicated to Zoodochou Pigi and to Saint John the Theologian.
The most impressive part of the monastery is the façade of the church which is a pure architectural marvel; it is built of pink coral stones and has two large Doric columns and one small Corinthian one, framing the entrance.
A superb church-tower with three bells is rising on the top of the façade. |
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In 1833 the monastery housed a boarding school that remained there some time.
A beautiful library, which also functions as a small museum, can also be found there, displaying old codices and rare books as well as worthy icons painted by the famous religious painter Mercurius of Santorini.
| The
Chrysoskalitissa Convent |
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This beautiful whitewashed convent was built on a rock on the site of an old monastic community, on the western coast of Crete, 72 kilometres south-west of Chania. The view from there is really astonishing. The main church of the convent has two naves which are respectively dedicated to the Dormition of the Virgin and to the Holy Trinity.
A few rooms for rent are available in the small settlement of the same name which is located nearby the convent.
Many more ruined or well-preserved churches and chapels can be found in the prefecture of Chania. One of them is the Rotonda of the Archangel Michael which is located in the village of Kato Episkopi, 10 kilometres south of Kolymbari. It houses a beautiful mosaic floor and priceless frescoes made by Byzantine artists during the 12th century. Also worth-seeing are the wonderful 15th century frescoes of the Byzantine Church of Saint George, at the village of Alikianos (13 kilometres south-west of Chania) and the exquisite mosaics which are kept in the modern church of Sougia and that come from an early Christian basilica (6th century), now in ruins.
This monastery is located one kilometre north of the lovely seaside village of Kolymbari, on the northern coast of Crete, 24 kilometres west of Chania, nearby the Orthodox Academy of Crete. Gonia was built during the 17th century in a wonderful place, surrounded by verdant vegetation and offering a magnificent view.
The monastery is dedicated to the Panagia Hodigitria (Guiding Virgin) and is surrounded by a courtyard around which are the monks’ cells, the refectory, the abbot’s quarters, the storerooms and cellars. The monastery used to have a rich library which that was burned by the Turks in 1866, and only a very few books escaped the massacre.
A small museum exhibits a collection of important post-Byzantine icons and a treasury with holy relics and other priceless objects.
Gonia Monastery served as a hospital during the Greek War of Independence (1812) and was housing an active resistance movement during the German occupation. |
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