Heraklion

Private Transfer from Chania to Heraklion

Private transfer from Chania to Heraklion, the largest city and the administrative capital of the island of Crete and capital of Heraklion regional unit. It is the fifth largest city in Greece. According to the results of the 2011 census, the municipality’s population was 173,993 and according to the results of 2011 census, the metropolitan area has a population of 225,574 and it extends over an area of 684.3 km² (264.2 sq mi).

Transfer Chania to Heraklion City

The Bronze Age palace of Knossos, also known as the Palace of Minos, is located nearby.

Heraklion announced as Europe’s fastest growing tourism destination for 2017, according to Euromonitor, showing an 11.2% growth in international arrivals. According to the ranking, Heraklion was ranked as the 20th most visited region in Europe, as the 66th area on the Planet and as the 2nd in Greece for the year 2017, with 3.2 million visitors and the 19th in Europe for 2018, with 3,4 million visitors.

Names

The Arab traders from al-Andalus (Iberia) who founded the Emirate of Crete moved the island’s capital from Gortyna to a new castle they called rabḍ al-ḫandaq (Arabic: ربض الخندق‎, “Castle of the Moat”) in the 820s. This was Hellenized as Χάνδαξ (Chándax) or Χάνδακας (Chándakas) and Latinized as Candia, which was taken into other European languages: in Italian and Latin as Candia, in French as Candie, in English as Candy, all of which could refer to the island of Crete as a whole as well as to the city alone; the Ottoman name was Kandiye.

After the Byzantine reconquest of Crete, the city was locally known as Megalo Kastro  ‘Big Castle’ in Greek and its inhabitants were called Kastrinoi (Καστρινοί, “castle-dwellers”).

The ancient name Ηράκλειον was revived in the 19th century and comes from the nearby Roman port of Heracleum (“Heracles’s city”), whose exact location is unknown. English usage formerly preferred the classicizing transliterations “Heraklion” or “Heraclion”, but the form “Iraklion” is becoming more common.

History

Heraklion is close to the ruins of the palace of Knossos, which in Minoan times was the largest center of population on Crete. Knossos had a port at the site of Heraklion (at Poros – Katsambas neighborhood) from the beginning of the Early Minoan period (3500 to 2100 BC). Around 1500 BC, the port was destroyed by a volcanic tsunami from nearby Santorini, leveling the region and covering it with ash.

After the fall of the Minoans, Heraklion, as well as the rest of Crete in general, fared poorly, with very little development in the area. Only with the arrival of the Romans did some construction in the area begin, yet especially early into Byzantine times, the area abounded with pirates and bandits.

Emirate of Crete

The present city of Heraklion was founded in 824 by the Arabs under Abu Hafs Umar who had been expelled from Al-Andalus by Emir Al-Hakam I and had taken over the island from the Eastern Roman Empire. They built a moat around the city for protection and named the city ربض الخندق, rabḍ al-ḫandaq (“Castle of the Moat”). It became the capital of the Emirate of Crete (ca. 827–961). The Saracens allowed the port to be used as a safe haven for pirates who operated against Imperial (Byzantine) shipping and raided Imperial territory around the Aegean.

Byzantine era

In 960, Byzantine forces under the command of Nikephoros Phokas, later to become Emperor, landed in Crete and attacked the city. After a prolonged siege, the city fell in March 961. The Saracen inhabitants were slaughtered, the city looted and burned to the ground. Soon rebuilt, the town was renamed Χάνδαξ, Chandax, and remained under Byzantine control for the next 243 years.

Venetian era

In 1204, the city was bought by the Republic of Venice as part of a complicated political deal that involved, among other things, the Crusaders of the Fourth Crusade restoring the deposed Eastern Roman Emperor Isaac II Angelus to his throne. The Venetians improved on the ditch of the city by building enormous fortifications, most of which are still in place, including a giant wall, in places up to 40 m thick, with 7 bastions, and a fortress in the harbor. Chandax was renamed Candia and became the seat of the Duke of Candia, and 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 settle families from Venice on Crete. The coexistence of two different cultures and the stimulus of Italian Renaissance led to a flourishing of letters and the arts in Candia and Crete in general, that is today known as the Cretan Renaissance.

Ottoman era

During the Cretan War (1645–1669), the Ottomans besieged the city for 21 years, from 1648 to 1669, perhaps the longest siege in history. In its final phase, which lasted for 22 months, 70,000 Turks, 38,000 Cretans and slaves and 29,088 of the city’s Christian defenders perished. The Ottoman army under an Albanian grand vizier, Köprülü Fazıl Ahmed Pasha conquered the city in 1669. Under the Ottomans, the city was known officially as Kandiye (again also applied to the whole island of Crete) but informally in Greek as Megalo Castro (Μεγάλο Κάστρο; “Big Castle”). During the Ottoman period, the harbor silted up, so most shipping shifted to Chania in the west of the island.

Modern era

In 1898, the autonomous Cretan State was created, under Ottoman suzerainty, with Prince George of Greece as its High Commissioner and under international supervision. During the period of direct occupation of the island by the Great Powers (1898–1908), Candia was part of the British zone. At this time, the city was renamed “Heraklion”, after the Roman port of Heracleum (“Heracles’ city”), whose exact location is unknown.

In 1913, with the rest of Crete, Heraklion was incorporated into the Kingdom of Greece. Heraklion became again the capital of Crete in 1971, replacing Chania.

Architecture, urban sculpture and fortifications

Around the city can be found several sculptures, statues and busts commemorating significant events and figures of the city’s and island’s history, like El Greco, Vitsentzos Kornaros, Nikos Kazantzakis and Eleftherios Venizelos.

Also, many fountains of the Venetian era are preserved, such as the Bembo fountain, the Priuli fountain, Palmeti fountain, Sagredo fountain and Morosini fountain (in Lions Square).

Also around the historic city center of Heraklion there are a series of defensive walls, bastions and other fortifications which were earlier built in the Middle Ages, but were completely rebuilt by the Republic of Venice. The fortifications managed to withstand the longest siege in history for 21 years before the city fell to the Ottomans in 1669.

Municipality

The municipality Heraklion was formed at the 2011 local government reform by the merger of the following 5 former municipalities, that became municipal units:

• Gorgolainis
• Heraklion
• Nea Alikarnassos
• Paliani
• Temenos

The municipality has an area of 244.613 km², the municipal unit 109.026 km².