Things to Do
Things to Do
Mikrasiaton Square
The Mikrasiaton Square is located in the heart of the Historical Centre of Rethymno, right in front of our hotel. It was handed over to the residents in 2007 and is the largest square of the city.
The monuments that surround it are also important sights of the city: Neraje Mosque, the church of St. Francis, Historical and Folklore Museum, Turkish School.
East of the square is placed, after the initiative of the Association of Asia Minor Rethymnon, ¨IONIA¨ and the monument to the representation of the Asia Minor Catastrophe.
Rethymno in 1922- 1924, when it welcomed the refugees, it is a fact that it was vegetating without any development, with a stagnant trade and an economy that was constantly dwindling. The refugees, coming – after the repeated uprooting of 1915, 1923 and 1924 – began to exert only beneficial influences and effects on the place. The first electric lighting in Rethymno, but also the soap factories – the most lucrative industry of Rethymno in the 20th century – are achievements with great and substantial participation of the Asia Minor refugees.
Rimondi Fountain
The Rimondi Fountain is an attraction in the centre of the old town of Rethymno, in Titus Petychakis Square, once the centre of the Venetian town. It was built around 1626 by the city’s rector A. Rimondi, the coat of arms of the Rimondi family is still visible on the monument. This project covered part of the city’s water supply needs.
The Rimondi fountain, or ‘taps’ for the locals, consists of three troughs into which water runs from three lion-head shaped faucets. Three ribbed columns topped by Corinthian capitals support a science fountain with a Latin inscription. During the Ottoman period, fountains were preferred to be in covered areas. Thus, a dome was added, part of which is preserved today.
During the infrastructure works, the pipeline that brought water to the Rimondi Fountain was uncovered. It was a stone modular conduit, which, according to the Venetian plans of the 17th century, came from a hill south of the town (Evliyas) where the spring to the fountain is located.
Legend has it that whoever drinks water from the Rimondi Fountain will stay young forever…
Historical Folklore Museum
Museum in a preserved Venetian villa dating back to the 17th century and hosting a collection of handicrafts and folk art.
The Foundation’s building of unique beauty offers the ideal space for the presentation of its collections, while since 1973, the operation of the Museum has contributed to the protection of the monument. In it are exhibited about 5000 objects representing a part of the history and everyday life of the Cretans inside and outside the home.
The exhibition spaces of the Museum (permanent exhibition) are spread over five (5) rooms and include mainly objects of traditional crafts and folk art. The Museum has modern audiovisual equipment of European museum standards as well as a hall for educational programmes, lectures and cultural events,
Archeological Museum of Rethymno
The Temporary Exhibition of the Archaeological Museum of Rethymno hosts, exhibits and displays characteristic antiquities, from the Regional Unit of Rethymno, highlighting its particularly interesting archaeological landscape.
The excavations, from the beginning of the last century until today, reveal the evolution through prehistory, protohistory and the history of Rethymnon. Part of the history of the site, the excavations themselves, shaped generations of archaeologists from different parts of the world, who adopted Rethymno and made it their second home, the home of their hearts.
The process of assembling the museum’s collections began during the second half of the 19th century. Initially, it was housed in a building in the old town of Rethymnon. In 1954, its headquarters were moved to the Venetian town’s Venetian administration building. Between 1991 and 2015, the museum was housed within a pentagonal-shaped matrix opposite the main gate of Fortezza, the fortress of the city of Rethymnon.
Today, the museum is housed inside the former church of Agios Fragiskos, on the southeast corner of the Mikrasiaton Square, in the old town of Rethymnon. The specific housing is of a temporary nature, as the study for the construction of the new Archaeological Museum is already underway within the framework of the Programme Contract for Cultural Development signed between the Ministry of Culture, the Region of Crete and the Municipality of Rethymnon.
- Church of St. Francis, St. Francis 4, 74131, Rethymnon
- +30 28310 27506
Enetian Port of Rethymno
The Venetian Port of Rethymno, a designated monument, is located right next to the commercial port. It is one of the most beautiful and picturesque spots of the Old Town, with the Egyptian Lighthouse dominating the entrance.
The Venetian harbour flourished during the Venetian period, when the Venetians built the large breakwater with a high wall to face the angry waves of the Cretan Sea. The excellent condition in which it is still preserved today, despite the passage of so many centuries since its construction, is impressive.
In the hospitable embrace of the Venetian port today, mainly fishing boats and pleasure boats moor, while during the summer season there are shops for food and drink that are full of life.
Loggia
Loggia is a magnificent square building in the old town of Rethymnon, at the junction of Arkadi and K. Paleologou streets. The Loggia was built in the 16th century to the designs of the famous Venetian architect Michel Sanmicheli and was a Venetian club, a place where the nobility gathered and met to discuss matters related to trade, political and economic issues.
During the Turkish occupation, the Loggia was converted into a mosque dedicated to Haji Hussein, the conqueror of Rethymnon. A minaret had been rebuilt on the west side of the building, but was demolished in 1930 due to its dilapidated condition. Since 1951, when the building was maintained, the Archaeological Museum of the city was housed in the area, where it remained until a few years ago. Today the building is maintained in very good condition, is square in plan with arches on its three facades and serves as a shop for the sale of faithful copies of the Archaeological Resources Fund.
- Konstantinos Paleologos & Arkadiou, Old Town - Rethymno
- +30 28310-53270 / 23653
Neraje Mosque
This building was a Catholic monastery of the Augustinian order and was dedicated to the Virgin Mary, named Santa Maria. With the conquest of Rethymno by the Ottomans, the monastery was converted into a mosque, which was known as the Gazi Hussein Pasha Mosque or the Neraje Mosque. After the population exchange and the departure of the Muslims from Crete in 1924, the building was converted into a conservatory.
The church is rectangular in shape and is housed with three small domes, which replaced the tiled roof of the Venetian church. The building’s doorway is one of the most impressive Renaissance doorways in Rethymnon, which is a variation of a design by the 16th century Italian architect Sebastiano Serlio. To the west of the church there is a small chapel built in 1617 and dedicated to the Corpus Cristi (Body of Christ).
In 1646 the conqueror of Rethymnon, Hussein Pasha, used the existing Venetian buildings, converting the church of the Virgin Mary into a mosque, the chapel of the Body of Christ into a library and the adjacent church of the Franciscan monastery of the Franciscan monks into a workhouse. On the west side of the mosque, the highest minaret in the city, 33 meters high and with two balconies, was erected in 1890 by the engineer Georgios Daskalakis.
Guora Gate
The Great Gate, (also known as the Guora Gate or Porta Guora), which opened at dawn and closed at night, was built during the rector Jocopo Guoro’s time (1566-1568), from whom it took its name, and is one of the few remaining sights of the Venetian fortifications of Rethymnon.
With an opening of 2.60 metres, formed by carved stones that form a semicircular arch at the top, the Great Gate, which was located next to the bastion of Santa Veneranda, was the main gate of the fortified city and led to the central square where the most important public buildings, such as the Loggia, the Rimondi Fountain and the Clock Tower, were located.
The Great Gate was a frequented place for the local precursors and the Ottoman beys, in whose language it sounded like ‘Orta Kapi’.
Fortezza Fortress
A trademark of Rethymnon, the Fortezza is the most important monument of the city. This Venetian fortress is built on the hill of Paleokastro, to the northwest of the present-day town, a breakwater for centuries against attacks from the sea and a refuge for the inhabitants in case of siege.
It was built between 1573-1580 by the Venetians in order to protect the inhabitants from the Turkish threat. It has a star shape, three gates and six bastions. Paleokastro hill was chosen, which has a vast view from both land and sea. Its total length is 1307 m and includes four bastions and three spikes. It took 76800 chores of the inhabitants of the whole prefecture to complete it and was constructed from regular rectangular stones by the master mason C. The stone was made of red bricks and was made of red bricks by G.G. Skordilis.
A tour of the castle is at the same time a tour of time, a journey to the Venetian era. The monumental eastern (central) gate welcomes the visitor and through a gallery leads him to the interior, where he is confronted with a fairy-tale setting.
A visit to Fortezza gives the visitor the opportunity to get to know the rich history of the city of Rethymnon. In its restored buildings it hosts cultural events, exhibitions, while in the bastion of Profitis Ilias there is the small Municipal Theatre “Erofili”.
- Fortezza Hill, Old Town, 741 31, Rethymno
- +30 28310 28101