Chania Vryses

General information

The village of Vryses is situated about 20 kilometers to the southeast of Chania Town at the meeting of the Boutakas and Vrysianos rivers. This natural setting grants the area lush, verdant vegetation, as well as extremely fertile lands for agriculture. This creates a temperate climate, without extreme heat in the summer or cold in the winter. In fact, the local weather station measured the warmest-ever January and February temperatures in Greece in 2010.

The area has been inhabited since the times of Ancient Greece, with the poleis of Amphimalion and Philippos situated in the vicinity, while the main attraction of the village, the Kamara Bridge over the Boutakas River, dates back to the Hellenistic period. The Kamara is surrounded by locations of other ancient finds, especially of the subsequent Roman period, while its use over the years is testified by the repairs and additions attributed to the Venetians and the Ottomans. 

The bridge has been a source of inspiration for the local community for centuries, with old folk tales claiming fairies sprung out from underneath it on New Year’s Day and a folk song telling of the bridge’s foundation, which required the master-builder to sacrifice his wife for the bridge to stand.