Chania

Chania is the site of the Minoan settlement of Cydonia, the Greek for "quince". The city reemerged after the end of the Minoan period as an important city-state in Classical Greece whose domain extended from Hania Bay to the feet of the White Mountains. Cydonia was constantly at war with other city-states such as Aptera, Falasarna and Polyrrinia and was important enough to be mentioned in Homer's Odyssey. In 69 BC the Roman Consul Metellus defeated the Cretans and conquered Cydonia to which he granted the privileges of an independent city-state. Cydonia reserved the right to mint its own coins until the 3rd century AD.

The early Christian period under Byzantine rule is not well-documented. The Arabs overtook the island by 824 and first called the settlement Chania. Again there is little from this period which was largely an enslavement of the people rather than a colonisation. The Byzantine Empire retook the city in 961. They began to fortify the city to prevent another Arab invasion.

After the Fourth Crusade and the dismantling of the Byzantine empire, in 1204, Crete was given to Bonifacio, Marquis de Montferrat. He, in turn, chose to sell it to the Venetians for 100 silver marks. In 1252 the Venetians managed to subdue the Cretans but in 1263, the Genoans, with local support, seized the city under the leadership of the Count of Malta, Henrico Pescatore, and held it until 1285 when the Venetians returned. Chania was chosen as the seat of the Rector (Administrator General) of the region and flourished as a significant commercial centre of a fertile agricultural region. Contact with Venice led to close intertwining of Cretan and Venetian cultures. The city's name became La Canea and fortifications were built around the city, against invaders and pirates, giving Chania the form that it still has today.

However the walls did not prevent the Turkish army overrunning the city in 1645 after just two months siege. The Turks landed near the Monastery of "Gonia" in Kissamos, which they plundered and burnt. They seized Chania itself on 2 August 1645. Huge numbers died in the siege, particularly Turks. The Turkish commander was executed on returning home for losing up to 40,000 men.

Most churches were turned into mosques and the riches of the city were taken. The Turks resided mainly in the eastern quarters, Kastelli and Splantzia, where they converted the Dominican church of St Nicholas into the central Sovereign's Mosque ("Houghiar Tzamissi"). They also built new mosqies such as "Kioutsouk Hassan Tzamissi" on the harbour. Public baths - Hamam, and fountains were a feature of the Turkish city. The pasha of the island resided in Chania.

In 1821, as Greece rose against the Ottoman Empire, many Christians were slaughtered and the Bishop of Kissamos, Melhisethek Thespotakis was hanged from a tree in Splantzia. In 1878, the Treaty of Halepa was signed and Christians were granted certain rights.

Eleftherios Venizelos, who hailed from Mournies near Chania, was the leader of the 1896-1897 uprising against Ottoman rule and went on to be Prime Minister of Greece and a great statesman. His tomb is on a hill overlooking Chania. In 1898, during the final moves towards independence and enosis with Greece, the Great Powers made Chania the capital of the semi-autonomous Cretan State ("Kritiki Politeia"), with Prince George of Greece, the High Commissioner of Crete living here. During these years Crete issued its own stamps and money. This was a very important transitional period, when the city became more cosmopolitan and flourishing. It basically has to do with the fact that Crete regained its role as the crossroad of civilizations, influenced by Europe as well as by the East and did not remain an isolated state of the Ottoman Empire. Many important buildings were built during this era, intellectual and artistic socities were created and a new form of local aristocracy brought a different atmosphere in the every day life of the town. The district of Halepa has many fine neoclassical embassies and consulates dating from this period.

However the main goal was the enosis with Greece which came after Venizelos's constant opposition to Prince George's rule over Crete. The series of conflicts includes the Revolution of Therissos in 1905, which overthrew Prince George and brought Alexandros Zaimis to rule Crete. Finally in 1908 Venizelos managed to establish a revolutionary goverment, recognized by the Great Powers. His later election as the prime minister of Greece (1910) was the last step before Crete was united with Greece on the 1st of December 1913.

Another important period for the city of Chania was the invasion and occupation from the German forces during World War II. Part of the city was bombed, progress in several aspects of life was halted and a significant proportion of the area's human potential was either executed or imprisoned due to participation in the resistance against the German rule. The Jewish community of Chania was also eliminated during the German occupation. Most of them were transported off the island by the Nazi occupiers in 1944. Tragically a British torpedo sank the ship Tanais carrying most of the Jewish prisoners, killing the island's pre-war community.

Fortunately, Chania and generally Crete escaped the disasterous consequences of the Greek Civil War which followed the years of the second World War. The city of Chania was slowly regaining its normal pace of developement during the 1950s, trying to overcome the difficulties that the war had left behind. During the 1970s Crete became a very competitive tourist destination which gave a significant boost in the city's economy and affected the every day life and the overall culture of the locals.

The capital of Crete was moved to Heraklion in 1971.

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