ARCHEOLOGICAL MUSEUM OF CHANIA

The Archaeological Museum of Chania is subject to the Ephorate of Antiquities of Chania.
The Museum has been housed in the church of the Venetian Monastery of St Francis since 1963.
The exhibits illustrate the cultural history and character of the area through the ages, from the Neolithic period to the Roman era. The exhibition hall is divided widthwise into two major sections. The east wing contains finds of the Late Neolithic period and the Bronze Age (Minoan era), while the west wing presents antiquities dated to the Iron Age (Historic era). The finds are presented in excavation groups and thematic units. The collections comprise Minoan finds from the city of Chania, prehistoric finds from caves, Minoan finds from various parts of the Prefecture, finds from tombs of the Geometric period, finds of the Historic era from Chania and various other towns and cities in the Prefecture, coins, prehistoric and historic jewellery, sculptures, inscriptions, stelai and mosaics.

The Museum has its own conservation laboratories for pottery, metal artefacts, coins, frescoes and mosaics, as well as a chemical laboratory. There is also a museum shop run by the Archaeological Receipts Fund in the converted belfry next to the main entrance.

Ticket: Full € 6,0 (valid for 3 days), Concessions € 3,0

Location: 28 Halidon St, Chania 73132

Contact: tel. (+30) 2821 090334 / Email: efacha@culture.gr

http://chaniamuseum.culture.gr/en/contact-us

Distance:

Nautical Museum of Crete

The Nautical Museum of Crete is located at the entrance of the historical fortress "Firka". It was founded in 1973 in order to promote the nautical traditions and history of the island. The Museum cooperates and interacts with other Nautical Museums in Greece and abroad.

The permanent exhibition includes 2.500 items, such as relics, objects found in the bottom of the sea, paintings, maps, photographs, models of ships, nautical equipment etc. The exhibits are organized in units, in chronological order from the Copper Age until today. There is also a special exhibition of sea environment, with a rich collection of shells from different places of the world.

An important development step for the Nautical Museum is the creation of a permanent exhibition of ancient and traditional shipbuilding. The main exhibit of the museum is the reconstructed Minoan ship “Minoa” an experimantal model, faithful copy of the original ancient commercial ship. Other exhibits are the tools and the materials that were used for its manufacture, some photographs and a map of its experimental travel.

Contact:

Address: Akti Kountourioti, Venetian Port of Chania
Tel.: +30 28210 - 91875
e- mail :Mar-museum-crete@otenet.gr

site: http://mar-mus-crete.gr/en/the-museum/

The Palace of Knossos

Knossos was the most prominent centre of the Minoan Civilisation, one of the magnificent civilisations of human kind. The renowned ancient city with the palace is the largest and most typical archaeological site ever discovered on Crete. It is located at a distance of 6 km SE of Heraklion amidst olive groves, vineyards and cypress forests. According to tradition, it was the seat of the legendary king Minoa. Apart from being the royal family's residence, it was also the administrative and religious centre for the whole region. The Palace is also connected with thrilling legends, such as the myth of the Labyrinth with the Minotaur, and the story of Daedalus and Icarus.

The first person, who conducted a systematic excavation at Knossos in 1878, was the lover of antiquity Minos Kalokerinos. However, luck was on the Sir Arthur Evans' side, the Englishman who first came to Knossos in 1894 and discovered the palace. The excavation works commenced shortly after Crete's independence in 1900 and continued with several interruptions for 35 years, by Evans personally and his associates.

The Palace of Knossos

The brilliant Minoan palace of Knossos (was constructed in two phases: first in 1900 B.C. and then in 1700-1450 B.C.) occupies an area 22,000 sq. m. You enter the central court via the south entrance. You then come across three wings. The throne room is situated in the west wing.

The eastern wing contains the royal chambers, the double axes room, the queen's megaron with the dolphin frescos, the workshop areas – where the stone carver's workshop holds an eminent place – and the storage rooms. At the north entrance is the custom's house with columns and pillars. To the North West outside the palace are the lustral basin, the theatre and the royal road that leads to the small palace. To the northeast of the main palace you can visit the royal villa and 1 km further to the S is the royal tomb.

Distance: 148km from Lavender Villas

Museum of Typography

The first Museum of Typography in Greece is located in Chania, Crete, in the heart of the Mediterranean sea. It is a private initiative by Yannis Garedakis, founder of the newspaper “Haniotika nea”, with the support of his wife Eleni. He has been collecting, for more than thirty years, machines and other exhibits that mark the evolution of European typography.

Since it’s opening in 2005 to this day, the museum has continuously enriched it’s collections, widened it’s field of interest and expanded it’s premises to cover every aspect of the art that was born in the 15th century in Gutenberg’s workshop and literally changed the course of history.

The Museum of Typography started its operation as a small private collection, next to the printing facilities of the newspaper “Haniotika nea”, to which it belonged until 2015.

In April 2012, it was expanded to a new wing with exhibits related to the evolution of the graphic arts as well as two special exhibitions related to the evolution of typography and the history of writing.

In 2015 another exhibition room with rare publications (16th – 19th century) that connect the history of printing to the local history of Crete was added and today the Museum is developed in two large wings, two exhibition rooms, its remarkable library, a bright amphitheater with a capacity of 80 seats, a museum shop and a coffee shop, covering a total area of approximately 1,200 sq.m.

Since 2012 Typography Museum is a member of the Association of European Printing Museums (AEPM).

In 2016 the Museum of Typography had the honor to be nominated for the distinguished prize “European Museum of the Year Award 2016“, (EMYA 2016) awarded by the European museum Forum (EMF), under the auspices of the Council of Europe.

The Museum of Typography is a modern and unique museum that presents to all guests the history of printing and typesetting. Through the interactive tour, guests come to understand the course of typography from middle ages up to the present days. During the tour all visitors are encouraged to print at printing presses of the 19th century.

Alongside, the museum organises and hosts cultural events all year long, such as conferences, book presentations, theatrical plays, musical events, and an annual international poster contest about typography. The winning posters are presented at a poster exhibition, at the amphitheatre of the museum, for a year.

Museum of Typography Yannis & Eleni Garedakis
Chania Park of Local Industies Building 13-03.
Easy access for people with special needs to most areas of the museum.

Contact:
Tel: +30 28210 80090, +30 6974020861
Email: info@typography-museum.gr

Winter schedule (1 October – 31 May)

Tuesday – Wednesday and Friday 12:30 – 15:00 and the first Sunday of each month 10:00 – 15:00.

Group and school visits take place daily by appointment. To arrange your visit please contact +30 28210 80090, +30 6974020861 or info@typography-museum.gr

Summer schedule (1 June – 30 September)

Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday: 10:00 – 15:00.
Friday: 12:00 – 19:00. Monday and Saturday: Closed

The museum is closed on public holidays (January 1 & 6, March 25, Easter Sunday, May 1, August 15, October 28, December 25 & 26).

Distance: 15km from Lavender Villas

The Monumental Olive Tree of Vouves

The Olive Tree Museum of Vouves is ideally located next to the Monumental Olive Tree of Vouves, the oldest olive tree in the world, which is visited by approximately 20.000 people every year from all over the world. The number of visitors is expected to increase rapidly in the years to come. The Monumental Olive Tree of Vouves has been declared as “natural heritage monument” by decision no 603/17-2-1997of the Secretary General of the Region of Crete, due to its special ecological and historical importance.

There are at least ten more monumental olive trees in this area, namely the same number of trees as in the whole of Crete. This fact testifies to the long-standing relationship between the residents of this area with the olive tree that dates back to antiquity.

For all of the above reasons, the Municipal Council, having full knowledge of the responsibility that it bears to safeguard this great legacy, has decided to expand the present Olive Tree Museum and to update it so that in the future it may be turned into the Olive Tree Museum and Mediterranean Centre for the Study of Monumental Olive Trees. Our Municipality has already purchased a plot of 600 square metres in area near the Museum in the settlement of Pano Vouves, in addition to the rest of the land that it owns in this area, and it has begun the preparation of relevant studies for that purpose.

In the region of Kolymvari and at the village “Ano Vouves”, stands one of the oldest domesticated olive trees, the “Monumental Οlive Τree of Vouves”. It is considered one of the oldest olive trees in the world with an aproximate age of at least 2500 years.

Archaeological findings confirm the fact that the great first Cretan civilization, the Minoans, not only was based on agricultural economy, but also had broad commercial relations in the East Mediterranean based on its agricultural products (Treuil-Darcque-Poursat-Touchais:1989). One of the most important products traded was olive oil. Generally, the cultivation and processing of olive trees is shown to be a main occupation during the Minoan period in Crete, proof provided by smashed olive seeds, ancient kinds of lamps using olive oil, vast ceramic jars where olive oil was stored etc. (Sakellarakis:1988).

However, olives and olive oil was not just a means of survival or economical transactions. They were used, as well, in other cultural activities, apart from nutrition, pointing out its great importance for Cretan culture and way of living. One of them was in the worship2 of their gods and goddesses. Another was the conscientiousness of the dead. Often, olive seeds have been found next to the dead in Minoan graves, in order to be used in life after death. Moreover, combining the worshiping character of the olive tree with their artistic abilities, Minoans have passed on to us great mural paintings portraying the holy tree either by itself or next to worshiping symbols (Psilakis-Kastanas:2003).

Moving on to the Mycenaean Period, olive oil is proved to be part of many activities not only for the local population, but also for the broader population of southern Greece. The decoded writing of Mycenaeans and the new scientific methods of analyzing remainders in amhporas (storage vessels) confirms the widespread use of olive oil, which seemed obvious from earlier archaeological excavations: Cretans had developed methods of storing olive oil and, in addition, they used it broadly when cooking vegetables, legumes or meat (Tzedakis-Martlew:1999). Moreover, olive oil is mentioned as a product for cosmetics or as a way of honoring gods (Psilakis-Kastanas:2003).

There is no doubt that, during the centuries, olive tree products kept playing their role in the life and economy of Mediterranean, as well as Greek and Cretan population. The growing transactions of agricultural products among the countries surounding the Mediteranean sea became even more intense during the great empires’ periods. The Roman Empire promoted monetary trade and agricultural products became a means of wealth accumulation (Alfoldy:1984). It was then that olive oil became a product of wider exportation in places out of the Mediterranean sea. Moreover, the growing urban population of those years demanded more imports, in order to prevent a potential lack of olive oil for the citizens of towns or of Rome itself. The same goes for the following Byzantine Empire. In its capital, Constantinople, olive oil was transferred in huge amphoras by ships. The broad use of olive oil in nutrition, illumination or even cosmetics was the reason of oil shortage from time to time, which resulted in occasional prohibition of olive oil exports (Psilakis-Kastanas:2003).

Moreover, during the Byzantine Period, Christian religion had already become widespread. It was then that olive oil started to be used in Christian masses and was, once more, a product related to god worship. Baptism, confirmation and extreme unction are three of the most typical Christian sacraments, in which olive oil has a domain role.

Crete remained an important olive oil production region through those centuries. However, during the latest Venetian Period (17th century), exports became more systematic, due to the organization of trading methods adopted by the Venetian state. Olive oil and wine were the leading exported products of the island (Detorakis:1990). During the 19th century, in addition to the existing uses of olive tree products, came the development of soap industry. In fact, one could say that the transition to the dominance of olive oil production in Crete has its foundation on the 19th century. The exclusive use of olive oil in Crete combined with a growing economy based on products and exports of olive oil, resulted in a vast increase of olive groves on the island (Psilakis-Kastanas:2003, Detorakis:1990). Cretans have been called to regularize what they did for the latest five millenniums: to grow olive trees and produce olive oil.

Olive Tree Museum of VouvesInformation:

Katerina Karapataki
tel. +3028240-22279, +306945157667

email: karapataki76 @gmail.com

Visiting hours:

-April- October: Daily 10:00- 19:00

-November- March: with appointment

Free Entrance

Distance from Lavender Villas: 19km