Arsaniou Monastery, Rethymno, Greece

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 Monastery, a cruciform domed basilica, was inaugurated during the late 16th century.

The great earthquake of 1856 destroyed a large part of the monastery and a decade later, the monks donated its property for the war of liberation of 1866. During the final Cretan revolution (1897-1898), Arsani suffered its own holocaust, with the Abbot Gabriel Klados meeting his doom after conflict with the Ottomans. This was the final contribution of the monastery shortly before the liberation of Crete.

The next landmark in the history of the monastery came in 1941, when the Germans executed monk Damianos Kallergis for fostering guerillas.

The monastery was renovated in the early 1970s, with the addition of murals to the church and the construction of the museum and conference center.

References:

Orthodox Crete

User Reviews

Jelena Blagojevic (3 years ago)
The Arsaniou Monastery in Rethymno prefecture is located near Pangalochori, 11 kilometers east of Rethymno, so you can easily arrive there by car. Very nice and peaceful men's monastery, with beautifully decorated walls and ceilings. Worth seeing!

stone wood (3 years ago)
Arsaniou Kloster, im 16. Jahrhundert gegründet, befindet sich in der Nähe von Pagalochori Dorf, 11 km östlich von Rethymnon, in einer Lage mit Panoramablick auf das Kretische Meer. Die Kirche des Klosters wird dem Hl. Georg gewidmet und ist eine kreuzförmige Basilika mit Kuppel. In der Anlage befinden sich ein Museum und ein Konferenzzentrum. Der Name des Klosters wird wahrscheinlich nach einem Mönch namens Arsenios genommen. Nach einem anderen Aspekt kommt der Name entweder von Arsinoe, einer Frau, die ihr Vermögen gab, um das Kloster oder das Kap von Arsinoon zu bauen.

Ing. Petr Suchý, Sr. (3 years ago)
Close*

tony bennett (3 years ago)
We went to light a candle in remembrance of the wife's mother. It's a very beautiful place,so peaceful. It was a very moving experience.

Mike Kollert (3 years ago)
Sehr gut erhaltenes Kloster, für Besucher immer offen. Ruhig, einfach, traditionell... Für einen kleinen Ausflug zwischendurch eignet sich es perfekt...

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

Photo from Flickr, copyright saxuisse

Historic Site of the week

Les Invalides

Les Invalides is a complex of buildings containing museums and monuments, all relating to the military history of France, as well as a hospital and a retirement home for war veterans, the building"s original purpose. The buildings house the Musée de l"Armée, the military museum of the Army of France, the Musée des Plans-Reliefs, and the Musée d"Histoire Contemporaine, as well as the burial site for some of France"s war heroes, notably Napoleon Bonaparte.

Louis XIV initiated the project in 1670, as a home and hospital for aged and unwell soldiers: the name is a shortened form of hôpital des invalides. The architect of Les Invalides was Libéral Bruant. The enlarged project was completed in 1676, the river front measured 196 metres and the complex had fifteen courtyards. Jules Hardouin Mansart assisted the aged Bruant, and the chapel was finished in 1679 to Bruant"s designs after the elder architect"s death.

Shortly after the veterans" chapel was completed, Louis XIV commissioned Mansart to construct a separate private royal chapel referred to as the Église du Dôme from its most striking feature. Inspired by St. Peter"s Basilica in Rome, the original for all Baroque domes, it is one of the triumphs of French Baroque architecture. The domed chapel is centrally placed to dominate the court of honour. It was finished in 1708.

Because of its location and significance, the Invalides served as the scene for several key events in French history. On 14 July 1789 it was stormed by Parisian rioters who seized the cannons and muskets stored in its cellars to use against the Bastille later the same day. Napoleon was entombed under the dome of the Invalides with great ceremony in 1840. In December 1894 the degradation of Captain Alfred Dreyfus was held before the main building, while his subsequent rehabilitation ceremony took place in a courtyard of the complex in 1906.

The building retained its primary function of a retirement home and hospital for military veterans until the early twentieth century. In 1872 the musée d"artillerie (Artillery Museum) was located within the building to be joined by the Historical Museum of the Armies in 1896. The two institutions were merged to form the present musée de l"armée in 1905. At the same time the veterans in residence were dispersed to smaller centres outside Paris. The reason was that the adoption of a mainly conscript army, after 1872, meant a substantial reduction in the numbers of veterans having the twenty or more years of military service formerly required to enter the Hôpital des Invalides. The building accordingly became too large for its original purpose. The modern complex does however still include the facilities detailed below for about a hundred elderly or incapacitated former soldiers.

Do you know an ancient castle or magnificent church near you?

Why not share it with other people interested in history? You can add your own historic sites and attractions to SpottingHistory.com.

It's absolutely free, easy, and doesn't even need registration!

Upload data

Arsaniou Monastery

Address

Details

More Information

Rating

Interesting Sites Nearby

User Reviews

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

Rhodes, The Island of Knights

Great Spa Towns of Europe

History of Guernsey & Jersey

Historic Site of the week

Les Invalides

Looks like you are a history fan!