A brief history of Rethymno

Rethymno is one of the four prefectures of Crete, stretching from the 'White Mountains' to 'Mount Psiloritis' and bordered by the the prefectures of Chania and Heraklion. It covers and area of 1,496km² and has a population of just over 81,000. The mountain ranges of the 'White Mountains', Psiloritis, Kouloukounas, Kedros, Asiderotas, Vryssinas form a network of valleys which delight every visitor and provide plenty of places to explore and thing to see.

The prefecture of Rethymno has a total of 263 villages with an average inhabitancy of 200. Officially classed as semi-mountainous, 507km² are cultivated, 936km² are are covered by settlements and the remaining 17km² by forest. The largest forest can be found near the Armeni Village (oak trees), Aghios Ioannis and Agiou Vassiliou (Cypress). Kouloukounas and south of the Arkadi Monastrey (Thorn-Oak Trees).

3500 BC to 1200 AD

Archaeological findings show that man first arrived in the today's area of Rethymno in the later Neolithic period (3500-2800 BC) and 13 instances of human presence from this era have been found so far to date, 5 of which are in caves. The most well-known and reportedly the most archaeological valuable is the Gerani Cave which is located some 7 km from the town of Rethymno. Finds from this cave may been seen in the Rethymno Archaeological Museum.

During the Minoan period (2800-1100 BC) human activity spread throughout the whole prefecture. Settlements and large building complexes (Elenes, Monastiraki, Apodoulou) appear. During the Geometric Period (710-270 BC) there is evidence of civilization in the area of Eleftherna and its eastern areas, including at least 15 cities founded between 710 and 470 BC, the majority of which were small towns. Of these, Axos enjoyed particular prosperity. During the Classical years (470-323 BC), Sivritos boomed as did Rithymna, the predecessor of today's Rethymno. During the Hellenistic and Roman periods, Lappa appears as the most important city.

The 5th, 6th and first half of the 7th centuries AD passed peaceful under the jurisdiction of the Byzantine Empire. From the second half of the 7th century continuous Arab invasions disrupted Crete until it was finally conquered in 821 or 828. The successive attempts of the Byzantines resulted in its re-conquest only 150 years later (961 AD). So, Crete and Rethymno passed another 150 years under Byzantine rule.

1200 AD to Today

In 1204 Crete cane under Venetian rule, a period of domination which lasted until 1669, the last centuries of which are characterized by the phenomenon of Cretan Renaissance. Rethymno was the third largest town of the "Kingdom of Crete" and considerable number of important monuments of the time have been preserved. he Turkish occupation brought a dark period for Rethymno and the whole of Crete. Economy became thoroughly agricultural, education ceased for centuries and oppression became unbearable. The revolution of Sfakia in 1770 prepared for the uprising of 1821, which in turn sparked off the events of 1866. It was in this revolution that the Arkadi Monastery near became known all over the world after the martyrdom of its defenders. In 1913 Crete was eventually unified with the rest of Greece and since then followed the nation’s history.

In May 1941 Rethymnon was one of the German parachutists' three fronts. The memorable resistance of the local people led to the execution of hundreds of inhabitants and the levelling of whole villages. Both sides suffered considerable losses.