Crete TOURnet - Greece

Skip to content

Crete TOURnet: Home

Путеводитель

Достопримечательности

Museums in Crete

Archaeological Museum of Chania

Main Menu

Archaeological Museum of Chania

Open Map

Lodging list in Archaeological Museum of Chania

Arkadi Hotel, Evgenia Studios, Kriti Hotel, Ideon Hotel, Roidis Apartments, Melia Studios, Zoi Studios, SunCity Hotel Studios, Royalsunhotel, Alkion Hotel, Giorgi's Blue Apts, Michalis Villas

Car Rental in Archaeological Museum of Chania

Speed Rent a Car, Auto-Kappa Car Rental, Auto Club Car Rental

Travel agents in Archaeological Museum of Chania

Kyriakakis Travel, Splendor Holidays

Archaic-style clay figurine from Axos

Next to the Roman Catholic church is the Archaeological Museum of Chania. This building was the magnificent Venetian church of San Francesco. A visit is worthwhile in order to see the inside of the former church and its garden. There are some very interesting local artefacts from the Minoan, the Hellenistic and Roman eras. The contents of the museum exhibits were discovered locally and follow a chronological order of presentation, beginning with Neolithic artefacts. The exhibits are well-labelled in Greek and English and there is a brief explanation as to their importance and where they were found.

Also displayed are two clay tablets inscribed in Linear A and Linear B script. Except for the tablets discovered at Knossos, these tablets excavated in Kastelli are the only examples of the two scripts being found together.

There are some very interesting local artefacts from the Minoan, the Hellenistic and Roman eras. The contents of the museum exhibits were discovered locally and follow a chronological order of presentation, beginning with Neolithic artefacts. The exhibits are well-labelled in Greek and English and there is a brief explanation as to their importance and where they were found.

Neolithic Artefacts

The exhibits of the museum were discovered locally and follow a chronological order of presentation beginning with Neolithic artefacts.

Minoan Pottery

The front of the museum is dominated by Minoan pottery, including several of the large pithari jars.

Minoan Larnakes

In the centre of the room is a collection of larnakes, or Minoan clay tombs, delightfully painted with birds and octopuses as well as the double axe and horns of the Minoan cult.

Glass from Chania area, Greco-Roman period

One of the larnakes still contains two small skeletons.

Greco-Roman Finds

Further back are a number of Greco-Roman finds, including glassware, mosaics, and sculpture. At the rear of the museum is a wonderful Roman statue known as the Philosopher of Elyros excavated from that area of Western Crete.

The Museum Building

The museum building itself is clearly in Venetian style with its pointed arches. The central aisle had three domed chapels (right and left of today's entrance). A bell tower was also immediately to the left of the present entrance. The church had a large central aisle and two others right and left. The aisle on the north side has four more chapels (pareklisia). The aisles are separated with arches. The church was converted to the Tzami of Yousouf Aga during the Turkish occupation; the remains of the minaret are in the garden.

In the garden of the Museum are Venetian portals transferred here after the mansions to which they once belonged collapsed. Two are from the Zangaroli mansion that was in the Kastelli area of the city. Zangaroli was Venetian governor of Crete (circa 1606) and his sons, Orthodox converts, built the Agia Triada Monastery on the Akrotiri. There are also two fountains in the garden; one is Turkish and the other (working) is the Venetian fountain from the harbour's Platia Sindrivaniou

.