Heraklion
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Heraklion (Ηράκλειο) | |
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| Location | |
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| Coordinates | |
| Time zone: | EET/EEST (UTC+2/3) |
| Elevation (min-max): | 0 - 33 m (0 - 108 ft) |
| Government | |
| Country: | Greece |
| Periphery: | Crete |
| Prefecture: | Heraklion |
| Population statistics (as of 2001) | |
| Municipality | |
| - Population: | 137,711 |
| - Area: | 108.8 km² (42 sq.mi.) |
| - Density: | 1,266 /km² (3,278 /sq.mi.) |
| Codes | |
| Postal codes: | 70x xx, 71x xx, 720 xx |
| Area codes: | 2810 |
| License plate codes: | HK, HP |
| Website | |
| www.heraklion-city.gr | |
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Heraklion or Iraklion (Greek: Ηράκλειο Italian: Candia), is the largest city and the capital of Crete. It is also the 4th largest city in Greece. Its name is also spelled Herakleion (transliteration of ancient/Katharevousa name), or Iraklio, with other variants. For centuries, it was called Candia (Greek: Χάνδαξ or Χάνδακας, Turkish: Kandiye).
Heraklion is the capital of Heraklion Prefecture. It has an international airport named after the writer Nikos Kazantzakis. The ruins of Knossos, which were excavated and restored by Arthur Evans, are nearby.
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[edit] History
Heraklion is close to the ruins of the palace of Knossos, which in Minoan times was the biggest centre of population on Crete. So it is very likely that there was a port here as long ago as 2000 BC. There is however no archaeological evidence for such a port.
The present city of Heraklion was founded in 824 AD by the Saracens (an Arabic Muslim people). They built a moat around the city for protection, and named the city خندق Ḫandaq, 'moat'. The Saracens allowed the port to be used as a safe haven for pirates, much to the annoyance of the nearby Byzantine Empire.
In 961, the Byzantines under the command of Nikiforos Fokas who was later to become a Byzantine Emperor, attacked and defeated the city, slaughtered the Saracens, looted the city, and burned it to the ground. They remained in control of the rebuilt Khandak for the next 243 years.
In 1204, the city was bought by the Venetians as part of a complicated political deal which involved among other things, the Crusaders of the Fourth Crusade restoring the deposed Byzantine emperor Isaac II Angelus to his throne. The Venetians improved on the ditch by building enormous fortifications, most of which are still in place, including a giant wall, in places up to 40m thick, with 7 bastions, and a fortress in the harbour. Khandak was renamed to Candia in Italian and became the seat of the Duke of Candia. As a result, the Venetian administrative district of Crete became known as "Regno di Candia" (Kingdom of Candia). The city retained the name of Candia for centuries and the same name was often used to refer to the whole island of Crete as well. To secure their rule, Venetians began in 1212 to resettle families from Venice on Crete. The coexistence of two different cultures and the influence of Italian Renaissance lead to a flourishing of letters and the arts in Candia and Crete in general, that is today known as the Cretan Renaissance.
After the Venetians came the Turks of the Ottoman Empire. They besieged the city for 22 years in a bloody war in which 30,000 Cretans and 120,000 Turks died.[citation needed] The Venetians surrendered in 1669. Under the Ottomans, the city was known officially as Kandiye (again also applied to the whole island of Crete) but informally as Megalo Kastro 'Big Castle'. During the Ottoman period, the harbour silted up, so most shipping shifted to Hania in the west of the island.
In the period of autonomy under Great Power supervision (1898-1908), Candia was part of the British zone. With the rest of Crete, it became part of the Cretan State in 1908, and was incorporated into the Kingdom of Greece in 1913. Upon its union with Greece it was renamed "Heraklion", after the Roman port of Heracleum 'Heracles' city' whose exactly location is unknown.
The biggest monument of the city is the Venetian medieval fortress Rocca al Mare (also known as Koules) located on the port.
[edit] Port
Heraklion is an important shipping port and ferry dock. The public can take ferries and boats from Heraklion to a multitude of destinations including Thira, Rhodes, Egypt, Haifa and mainland Greece.
[edit] Airport
Heraklion International Airport, or Nikos Kazantzakis Airport is located about 5km east of the city. The airport is named after Herkalion native Nikos Kazantzakis, a Greek writer and philosopher. It is the second busiest airport of Greece, mostly due to the fact that Crete is a major destination for tourists during summer. There are regular domestic flights to and from Athens, Thessaloniki and Rhodes with Aegean Airlines and Olympic Airlines. Cyprus Airlines flies to Larnaca via Rhodes. Furthermore, Sky Express operates direct flights to Aegean islands such as Rhodes, Santorini, Samos, Mytilini and Ikaria. During the summer period, traffic is intense and the flight destinations are from all over Europe (mostly Germany, UK, Italy and Russia). The airfield is shared with the 126 Combat Group of the Hellenic Air Force.
[edit] Sporting teams
The city hosts three soccer clubs:
- OFI Crete in Heraklion, plays in the first division.
- Ergotelis FC - in Heraklion, plays in the first division.
Both OFI FC and Ergotelis FC use the Pankretio Stadium, which was built for the Athens 2004 Summer Olympics.
- Atsalenios - Football Club of Heraklion which plays in the third division.
[edit] Famous natives
Heraklion has been the home town of some of Greece's most significant spirits, including the novelist Nikos Kazantzakis, the poet and Nobel Prize winner Odysseas Elytis and the world-famous Greek painter Domenicos Theotokopoulos (El Greco).
- Elli Alexiou, writer 1894-1988
- Gianna Angelopoulos-Daskalaki, business woman and politician *1955
- Francesco Barozzi, mathematician and astronomer 1537-1604
- Michael Damaskenos, painter of icons 1530/35-1592/93
- Rika Diallina, actress and model, Miss Hellas 1952
- El Greco, Mannerist painter, sculpturer and architect 1541-1614
- Odysseas Elytis, poet, Nobel Prize in Literature 1911-1936
- Fotis Kafatos, Professor of Biology, President of the European Research Council
- Nikos Kazantzakis, the prominent modern Greek writer 1883-1957
- Georgios Klontzas, painter of icons 1540-1607
- Vitsentzos Kornaros, most important Cretan Renaissance writer 1553-1613
- Fragiskos Leontaritis (Francesco Londarit), sole Cretan Renaissance composer 1518-1572
- Nikos Machlas, football player *1973
- Giannis Markopoulos, composer *1939
- Sapfo Notara, actress 1907-1985
- Nikolaos Panagiotakis, Professor of History, Byzantinologist, 1935-1997
- Theodoros Poulakis, painter of icons 1622-1692
- Andreas Ritzos, painter of icons 1422-1492
- Georgios Samaras football player *1985
- Yannis Smaragdis, film director *1970
- Emmanuel Tzanes, painter of icons 1610-1690
- Aristidis Vlassis, painter *1955
- Konstantinos Volanakis, painter 1837-1907
- Lili Zografou, writer, 1922-1998
[edit] See also
- Minoan civilization
- Siege of Candia (1648 - 1669)
- University of Crete
- Foundation for Research & Technology - Hellas
- European Network and Information Security Agency
- TEI of Crete
[edit] References
- The War for Candia by the VENIVA consortium provides details of the siege of Candia, including estimated number of deaths.
[edit] External links
- (FORTH) Foundation of Research & Technology Hellas
- (STEP-C) Science & Technology Park of Crete
- Cretaquarium Thalassocosmos
- Municipality of Heraklion
- Heraklion Information about the city of Heraklion by the Technological Educational Institute of Crete
- Heraklion city map and virtual tour An interactive map with streets, sights, travel info and pictures
- Heraklion guide for visitors
- Climbing in Iraklio
| Municipalities of the Heraklion Prefecture |
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| Agia Varvara • Archanes • Arkalochori • Asterousia • Chersonissos • Episkopi • Gazi • Gorgolainis • Gortyna • Gouves • Heraklion • Kasteli • Kofinas • Krousonas • Malia • Moires • Nea Alikarnassos • Nikos Kazantzakis • Paliani • Rouvas • Temenos • Thrapsano • Tylisos • Tympaki • Viannos • Zaros |
