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
characterised 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. |
