Top Historic Sights in Rethymno, Greece
Explore the historic highlights of Rethymno
Rethymno Fortress
The Fortezza (fortress) is the citadel of the city of Rethymno in Crete. It is built on a hill which was the site of ancient Rhithymna"s acropolis. Between the 10th and 13th centuries, the Byzantines established a fortified settlement to the east of the hill. It was called Castrum Rethemi, and it had square towers and two gates. The fortifications were repaired in the beginning of the 13th century. Ve ...
Founded: 1573-1580 |
Location:
Rethymno, Greece
Arsaniou Monastery
Arsaniou Monastery for old men was possibly founded during the 2nd Byzantine period (961-1204). It was founded by a monk named Arsenios, after whom it was named. According to the most likely version of events, it was deserted at one point due to pirates causing problems to coastal hamlets and, like many other Cretan monasteries, it was renovated before 1600. The Church of Agios Georgios, the Catholicon of the Mona ...
Founded: 11th century |
Location:
Rethymno, Greece
Myriokefala Church
The Church of Panagia ton Myriokefalon in the village of Myriokefala served as the catholicon of the Monastery of Panagia Antifonitria, dating back to the 11th century, which has not survived. The Monastery was built by Ossios Ioannis Xenos and remained in operation until the early 20th century. Apart from the catholicon, the remaining buildings date back to the 18th and 19th century. The catholicon belongs to t ...
Founded: 11th century |
Location:
Rethymno, Greece
Eleutherna
Eleutherna was an ancient city-state in Crete. During the ninth century BCE, in sub-Mycenaean times, in the Geometric Period of the later Greek Dark Ages, Dorians colonized the city on a steep, naturally fortified ridge. The city"s location made it a natural crossroads, as it lay between Cydonia on the northwest coast and Knossos, and between the shore, where it controlled its ports, Stavromenos and Pano ...
Founded: 800-900 BC |
Location:
Rethymno, Greece