Chania Museums

Chania has many museums and attractions to see, however it’s a good idea think ahead an itinerary before a visit. Most tourists only have a limited amount time in any city/country, so they have to be aware of good places to visit, because the time is essential for them.

Inaugurated on the 32nd anniversary of the Battle of Crete, Nautical Museum of Chania is located in a building of Firkas Fortress on the north-east end of Venetian Harbour.

The collection contains models of ships from antiquity to modern times and a collection of relics from historic battles of Greek Navy such as war guns, portraits of important Greek admirals, navigation equipment and objects such as range finders, barometers, wind-gauges, course and speed abaci, torpedo firing computer, magnetic boat compasses, meteorological instruments, sextants, a planisphere, torpedo-boat steering gear, etc. There are also paintings, portraits, authentic historic photographs. The museum also exhibits a collection of rare shells.

A rare shell collection in Nautical Museum of Chania

The museum is housed in the katholikon of the Venetian monastery of St. Francis. During the period of Turkish occupation it was the Muslim mosque of Yussuf Pasha, after that it was used as a cinema or a storehouse for military equipment. Since 1963 it has been functioning as the Archaeological Museum of Chania which contains many historical pieces that date back as far as the 15th century B.C such as items found in Geometric Period graves, jewellery (prehistoric and historic times), mosaics, clay tablets, coins, sculpture and inscriptions among others.

Located on Theotokopoulou Street in a building of Chania town, Byzantine and post-Byzantine collection has various mosaics, wall-paintings, sculptures, funerary inscriptions, icons, ceramics and objects of arts. The exhibits in the museum vary and are separated by historical period and filled with information and historical artefacts that chronicle Chania’s history.

The War Museum was built in 1870, next to the Public Gardens and is a work of the Italian architect Makouzo. It is a branch of the War Museum of Athens. The building was once time the Italian barracks. Its library comprises over 6500 thousand books as well as very important documents. The museum has one of the richest archive collections, second only to the General Archives of the State. It also has a small collection of folkloric and historical material.

The War Museum contains rare pictures and various other historical items from Crete’s revolution against Turks, from Balkanian Wars, the Macedonian War as well as memorabilia from World War II and the Battle of Crete.

The Historical Archive and Museum of Crete is located on Sfakianaki Street and is housed in a wonderful neoclassical building and it also includes a second ancillary building with file record rooms. The museum is considered to be the largest of the regional Historical Archive in the country, in terms of content, volume and material importance. The main purpose is the collection, classification, recording, preservation and promotion of all kinds of archives and relics relating to Cretan’s history.

Its exhibits contains a rich collection of folklore and related material to the history of the island such as historic documents, maps, coins, religious vessels and pictures among others. Also the Historical Archives has a specialised Library containing about 10,000 titles as well as a large museum collection of valuable historical and folklore relics.

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