Walking the streets of Hania

Welcome to the city of Hania !

A simple stroll through the streets of Hania sometimes gives the impression that, in some way, one can communicate with its past and history just by being here...

No doubt a modern city, full of life and activity. Nevertheless, a place where the past and the present blend at every corner, every monument and landscape, in ways that please the eye as well as the heart.

It is easy to comprehend why the pride of the city is the part of it that lies behind the old Venetian defense walls. A simple look at the old city and its harbor is enough. Hania may be one of the last cities in all Europe that preserves almost intact the total backbone of the structure of their Venetian Ports. From the lighthouse to the shipyards, the warehouses, the monasteries, the baths, the barracks, the walls and their bastions, the port in whole is an open museum which is worth walking and exploring in every step.

The main harbor is enfolded by the old city, which is built upon the hill of Kasteli and overlooks the sea. Underneath the city lie the ruins of ancient Minoan Kydonia.

It is completely surrounded by the high Byzantium and Venetian walls.

This overlay of civilizations through the centuries, combined with coexistence, mainly in the eras of Venetian and Turkish occupations, of different social groups - Catholics, Orthodox, Jews and Muslims - gave to the city a unique mixture of style and rhythm. Amongst the narrow slab paved streets with their traditional buildings emerge monuments and buildings of great historical value.

In the district of Tophanas for example, which is located on our left as we descend down Chalidon Street towards the harbor, we will stumble upon Venetian mansions and Turkish houses with their characteristic bow-windows. Here we will also find the fortress of Firka with its Naval Museum and the church of San Salvatore of the Franciscan Monks, which hosts "The Byzantium Collection of Hania".

In the old Jewish district, the Ovrahiki, we will find the old Jewish Synagogue and the imposing Venetian building of Saint Frances, which today houses the city's Archeological Museum and at least 5,000 years of history!

Also, on Chalidon Street, we find the "Cretan House", a folkloric museum at the opposite of the metropolitan church of "Eisodia tis Theotokou" which is of monumental value, with excellent frescos.

A little further down, at the Santrivani square, stands the mosque of Kioutsouk Hasan (1645 AD). Continuing to our right, we will come across the imposing Venetian Shipyards, which are over six hundred years old, and then the newly and marvelously renovated Grand Arsenal .

There also lie the ruins of ancient Kydonia, back to back with 16 th century Santa Maria de Miracoli church!

Scattered all around this route are many souvenir stores, cafιs, taverns, dancing clubs etc.

Moving towards the center of the town, we will meet the legendary Stivanadika a picturesque narrow street full of old Eastern memories. In the past it hosted the shoemakers' stores that manufactured the famous Cretan stivania (boots).

In the district of Splanzia, a very old neighborhood, we will witness a rare image of a Christian church, the church of Saint Nicolas, a Muslim minaret and the renaissance churches of Saint Roco and Saint Anargiri of the 16 th century!

Out of the walls and east of the harbor is the favored hang-out place for the local youth, the old Turkish district of Koum Kapi. A little further down, we come to the district of Halepa, where magnificent buildings are located, as the palace of Prince George, the residence of Eleftherios Venizelos, the French Institute, the Russian church of Saint Magdalena, which was built in 1903.

Other interesting sights are those of the Koundourou Vila, which was renovated and houses today a youth workshop, the Public Gardens with a 1870 clock, the famous cross-like Public Market Place that was built in 1913 and is today a landmark for the city, as it is unique in Greece.

From the market square en route to the Courthouse Square, the second largest square, we meet a complex of buildings, that houses the Prefecture and the city courts.