LOCATION

The Archaeological Museum of Heraklion is among the most important museums in Greece. Its exhibits include representative samples of all the historical and prehistorical periods of Crete, covering a period of 5,500 years from the Neolithic till the Roman times. However, above all, the Archaeological Museum of Heraklion hosts the masterpieces of the Minoan civilization as it exhibits findings from Knossos, Phaestos, Zakros, Malia and other important Minoan excavations on the island of Crete.

The Minoan Palace at Knossos is over 20,000 square meters and the largest of all Minoan palatial structures. It was built of ashlar blocks, had many floors and was decorated with really beautiful frescoes. The old palace was built around 2,000 BC but was destroyed by an earthquake in 1700 BC. The newer, more complex palace, was built almost immediately after the first one was destroyed. In the middle of the 15th Century BC, the Achaeans took over the island of Crete and settled in the palace. The palace was once again destroyed by fire in the middle of the 14th Century B.C and henceforth ceased to function as a palatial center.

The Venetian Castle of Heraklion is called Koules, which means fortress in Turkish. It is an impressive fortress that surrounds the harbor of Heraklion, Crete. The Koules Castle is a massive fortress with two storeys that used to guard the entry to the port. The Castle was constructed by the Venetians in the early 13th century when they conquered the town. The earliest description of the Koules Venetian Castle exists in the work of the Florentine monk Cristoforo Buondelmonti in 1429.