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Heraklion or Herakleion (Template:IPAc-en Template:Respell; Template:Langx, Template:Transliteration, {{#invoke:IPA|main}}),<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> sometimes Iraklion, is the largest city and the administrative capital of the island of Crete and capital of Heraklion regional unit. It is the fourth largest city in Greece with a municipal population of 179,302 (2021)<ref name="census21" /> and 211,370 in its wider metropolitan area,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> according to the 2011 census. The greater area of Heraklion has been continuously inhabited since at least 7000 BCE, making it one of the oldest inhabited regions in Europe. It is also home to the ancient Knossos Palace, a major center of the Minoan civilization dating back to approximately 2000-1350 BCE, often considered Europe's oldest city. The palace is one of the most significant archaeological sites in Greece, second only to the Parthenon in terms of visitor numbers.

Heraklion was Europe's fastest growing tourism destination for 2017, according to Euromonitor, with an 11.2% growth in international arrivals.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> According to the ranking, Heraklion was ranked as the 20th most visited region in Europe, as the 66th area on the planet and as the 2nd in Greece for the year 2017, with 3.2 million visitors<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and the 19th in Europe for 2018, with 3.4 million visitors.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

EtymologyEdit

The name Herakleion (Ηράκλειον) is derived from an ancient port of Heracleium that served as the harbour for Knossos.<ref name=Barrington>Template:Cite Barrington</ref><ref>Template:Cite DARE</ref> The port, bearing the same name, was named in honour of the hero Heracles (Hercules).<ref>Template:Cite Stephanus</ref> In antiquity, it was located about 20 stadia (approximately 3.7 kilometers) from Knossos.<ref name=Stadiasmus>Stadiasmus Maris Magni §§ 348–349.</ref> Strabo also confirms the connection between the two.<ref>Template:Cite Strabo</ref>

The site of the ancient port falls within the boundaries of the modern city, near today’s port area. Although ecclesiastical records do not list it as a bishopric, a bishop named Theodoros of Heracleopolis is mentioned at the Second Council of Nicaea.<ref>Cornel. Creta Sacr. vol. i. p. 254.</ref>

The name was revived in the 19th century and was in use by locals as early as 1867.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Other namesEdit

1. In antiquity: The area that would later become the city of Heraklion served as the port for the ancient city of Knossos, one of the centers of the Minoan civilization. This strategic location facilitated trade and communication across the Mediterranean. Over time, as Knossos declined, the port area grew in significance, eventually becoming a prominent urban center.

2. Rabḍ al-ḫandaq (ربض الخندق): In 824 CE, Arab exiles from al-Andalus (Iberia) who conquered Crete and founded the Emirate of Crete moved the island's capital from Gortyna to a new castle they called rabḍ al-ḫandaq ("Castle of the Moat").<ref>Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition, s.v. "Iḳrīṭish".</ref>

3. Chándax (Χάνδαξ) / Chándakas (Χάνδακας): The Arabic name rabḍ al-ḫandaq was Hellenized to Χάνδαξ (Chándax) or Χάνδακας (Chándakas).

4. Candia: This name, derived from Chándax, was Latinized as Candia and adopted into other European languages: in Italian and Latin as Candia, in Spanish as Candía, in French as Candie, and in English as Candy. These names could refer to the island of Crete as a whole as well as to the city alone; the Ottoman name for the city was Kandiye.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

5. Megalo Kastro (Μεγάλο Κάστρο): After the Byzantine reconquest of Crete, the city was locally known as Megalo Kastro ({{#invoke:Lang|lang}}, 'Big Castle' in Greek) and its inhabitants were called Kastrinoi (Καστρινοί, "castle-dwellers").<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

HistoryEdit

File:Knossos palace.jpg
Knossos is located within the Municipality of Heraklion and has been called Europe's oldest city<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

Minoan eraEdit

Heraklion is home to the ruins of the palace of Knossos, located in the southern periphery of the city and part of the Heraklion municipality. In Minoan times, Knossos was the largest centre of population on Crete and is considered by many to be the oldest city in Europe.<ref>Whitelaw, Todd (2000). "Beyond the palace: A century of investigation at Europe's oldest city". Bulletin of the Institute of Classical Studies: 223, 226.</ref>

Knossos itself had a port at the site of Heraklion (in the modern area of Poros-Katsambas<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> neighborhood) from the beginning of the Early Minoan period (3500 to 2100 BC).

AntiquityEdit

{{#invoke:Labelled list hatnote|labelledList|Main article|Main articles|Main page|Main pages}} After the fall of the Minoans, Heraklion, as well as the rest of Crete in general, fared poorly, with very little development in the area. Only with the arrival of the Romans did some construction in the area begin, yet especially early into Byzantine times the area abounded with pirates and bandits.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Emirate of CreteEdit

Heraklion was chosen as capital in 824, with fortifications starting being built the following year, by the Arabs under Abu Hafs Umar who had been expelled from Al-Andalus by Emir Al-Hakam I and had taken over the island from the Eastern Roman Empire.Template:Citation needed They built a moat around the city for protection, and named the city rabḍ al-ḫandaq (ربض الخندق, "Castle of the Moat", hellenized as Χάνδαξ, Chandax). It became the capital of the Emirate of Crete (Template:Circa–961). The Saracens allowed the port to be used as a safe haven for pirates who operated against Imperial (Byzantine) shipping and raided Imperial territory around the Aegean.Template:Citation needed

Byzantine eraEdit

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In 960, Byzantine forces under the command of Nikephoros Phokas, later to become Emperor, landed in Crete and attacked the city. After a prolonged siege, the city fell in March 961. The Saracen inhabitants were slaughtered, the city looted and burned to the ground.Template:Citation needed Soon rebuilt, the town remained under Byzantine control for the next 243 years.Template:Citation needed

Venetian eraEdit

File:Città di Candia - Francesco Basilicata - 1618.jpg
Representation of the city of Candia and the surrounding area by Francesco Basilicata, 1618

Template:Further Template:Further In 1204, the city was bought by the Republic of Venice as part of a complicated political deal which involved, among other things, the Crusaders of the Fourth Crusade restoring the deposed Eastern Roman Emperor Isaac II Angelus to his throne. The Venetians improved on the ditch of the city by building enormous fortifications, most of which are still in place, including a giant wall, in places up to Template:Convert thick, with seven bastions, and a fortress in the harbour. Chandax was renamed Candia and became the seat of the Duke of Candia, and the Venetian administrative district of Crete became known as "Regno di Candia" (Kingdom of Candia). The city retained the name of Candia for centuries and the same name was often used to refer to the whole island of Crete as well. To secure their rule, the Venetians began in 1212 to settle families from Venice on Crete. The coexistence of two different cultures and the stimulus of the Italian Renaissance led to a flourishing of letters and the arts in Candia and Crete in general, that is today known as the Cretan Renaissance.

Ottoman eraEdit

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During the Cretan War (1645–1669), the Ottomans besieged the city for 21 years, from 1648 to 1669, the longest siege in history up until that time. In its final phase, which lasted for 22 months, 70,000 Turks, 38,000 Cretans and slaves and 29,088 of the city's Christian defenders perished.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The Ottoman army under an Albanian grand vizier, Köprülü Fazıl Ahmed Pasha conquered the city in 1669.

Under the Ottomans, Kandiye (Ottoman Turkish قنديه) was the capital of Crete (Girit Eyâleti) until 1849, when Chania (Hanya) became the capital, and Kandiye became a sancak.<ref name="sezen">Tahir Sezen, Osmanlı Yer Adları, Ankara 2017, T.C. Başbakanlık Devlet Arşivleri Genel Müdürlüğü Yayın No: 26 s.v., p. 410 Template:Webarchive</ref> In Greek, it was commonly called Megalo Castro (Μεγάλο Κάστρο 'Big Castle').

During the Ottoman period, the harbour silted up, so most shipping shifted to Chania in the west of the island.

Modern eraEdit

File:Κούλες 14.jpg
Panoramic view of the port of Heraklion from Koules Fortress

An earthquake located off the northern coast of Crete on October 12, 1856, destroyed most of the over 3,600 homes in the city. Only 18 homes were left intact. The disaster claimed 538 victims in Heraklion.<ref name=NGDC>Template:Citation</ref>

In 1898, the autonomous Cretan State was created, under Ottoman suzerainty, with Prince George of Greece as its High Commissioner and under international supervision. During the period of direct occupation of the island by the Great Powers (1898–1908), Candia was part of the British zone. At this time the ancient name of "Heraklion" was revived.

In 1913, with the rest of Crete, Heraklion was incorporated into the Kingdom of Greece. Heraklion was severely damaged in the bombing campaign in May 1941 during the German invasion in the Battle of Crete. The city remained under German rule until 1945. Heraklion again became capital of Crete in 1971, replacing Chania. The city, and Crete generally, became a major tourist destination from the 1980s onwards.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Architecture, urban sculpture and fortificationsEdit

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The oldest monument of architecture is the palace in Knossos on the outskirts of the city.

Two largest medieval churches in the city were the Dominican church of St. Peter (built between 1248 and 1253) and the San Salvatore, belonging to the Augustinian Friars. The latter one stood in Kornaros Square, but was demolished in 1970.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

Other monuments of architecture from Venetian times include the Saint Mark's Basilica and the Renaissance loggia next to Lions Square (1626–28).

Around the historic city center of Heraklion there are also a series of defensive walls, bastions and other fortifications which were built earlier in the Middle Ages, but were completely rebuilt by the Republic of Venice. The fortifications managed to withstand the longest siege in history for 21 years, before the city fell to the Ottomans in 1669. The Koules Fortress (Castello a Mare), the ramparts and the arsenal dominate the port area.

Many fountains of the Venetian era are preserved, such as the Bembo fountain, the Priuli fountain, Palmeti fountain, Sagredo fountain and Morosini fountain in Lions Square (1628).

Architecture from the 19th century is represented by the St Titus Cathedral, built in 1869 as the Yeni Cami ("New Mosque"), and the Agios Minas Cathedral (1862–95).

An example of modern architecture in Heraklion is the Heraklion Archaeological Museum built between 1937 and 1940 by architect Patroklos Karantinos.

Several sculptures, statues and busts commemorating significant events and figures of the city's and island's history, like El Greco, Vitsentzos Kornaros, Nikos Kazantzakis and Eleftherios Venizelos can be found around the city.

MunicipalityEdit

File:20110927 St. Peter of Dominicans Heraklion Crete Greece Panorama.jpg
The Saint Peter of Dominicans, one of the oldest monuments of architecture of the Cistercian monks in the 12th century.

The municipality Heraklion was formed at the 2011 local government reform by the merger of the following 5 former municipalities, that became municipal units:<ref name=Kallikratis>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

The municipality has an area of 244.613 km2, the municipal unit 109.026 km2.<ref name="stat01">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

NeighborhoodsEdit

• Agia Ekaterini • Dimokratias • Marathitis
• Agia Erini Chrisovalantou • Estavromenos • Mastabas
• Agia Marina • Filothei • Mesabelies
• Agia Triada • Fortetsa • Mpentevi
• Agios Dimitrios • Ilioupoli • Nea Alatsata
• Agios Ioannis Chostos • Kamaraki • Pananio
• Agios Minas • Kaminia • Papatitou Metochi
• Agios Titos • Katsampas • Pateles
• Akadimia • Kenouria Porta • Poros
• Ampelokipoi • Kipoupoli • Therissos
• Analipsi • Komeno Mpenteni • Tris Vagies
• Atsalenio • Korakovouni • Xiropotamos
• Chanioporta • Koroni Magara
• Chrisopigi • Knossos
• Dilina • Lido

SuburbsEdit

• Agia Erini • Finikia • Ksirokabos
• Agia Marina • Gazi urban area • Malades
• Agioi Theodoroi • Giofyrakia Nea Alikarnassos urban area
• Agios Syllas • Gournes Temenous • Sillamos
• Ammoudara • Kallithea • Skafidaras
Amnisos • Karteros • Skalani
• Ano Kalesia • Kato Kalesia • Vasilies
• Athanati • Kavrochori • Voutes
Dafnes • Kollyvas

TransportationEdit

PortEdit

Heraklion is an important shipping port and ferry dock. Travellers can take ferries and boats from Heraklion to destinations including Santorini, Ios Island, Paros, Mykonos, and Rhodes. There are direct ferries to Naxos, Karpathos, Kasos, Sitia, Anafi, Chalki and Diafani.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> There are also several daily ferries to Piraeus, the port of Athens in mainland Greece. The port of Heraklion was built by Sir Robert McAlpine and completed in 1928.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

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AirportEdit

Heraklion International Airport, or Nikos Kazantzakis Airport is located about Template:Convert east of the city. The airport is named after Heraklion native Nikos Kazantzakis, a writer and a philosopher. It is the second busiest airport of Greece after Athens International Airport, first in charter flights and the 59th busiest in Europe, because of Crete being a major holiday destination with 8,066,000 passengers in 2022 (List of the busiest airports in Europe).

The airfield is shared with the 126th Combat Group of the Hellenic Air Force.

Highway networkEdit

European route E75 runs through the city and connects Heraklion with the three other major cities of Crete: Agios Nikolaos, Chania, and Rethymno.

Public transitEdit

Urban buses serve the city, with 39 different routes.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Intercity buses connect Heraklion to many major destinations in Crete.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

RailwayEdit

From 1922 to 1937, a working industrial railway connected the Koules in Heraklion to Xiropotamos for the construction of the harbor.<ref>Tzikas, Polykarpos; Konstantinos, Mamalakis; Tertipis, Dimitrios; Charitopoulos, Evangelos. «Μέσα σταθερής τροχιάς στην Κρήτη: Δίκτυα βιομηχανικών σιδηροδρόμων κατά το πρώτο μισό του 20ου αιώνα». Proceedings of the 12th International Congress of Cretan Studies.</ref>

In the summer of 2007, at the Congress of Cretan emigrants held in Heraklion, two engineers, George Nathenas and Vassilis Economopoulos, recommended the development of a railway line in Crete, linking Chania, Rethymno, and Heraklion. No official plans exist for implementing this idea.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

ClimateEdit

Heraklion has a hot-summer Mediterranean climate (Csa in the Köppen climate classification). Summers are warm to hot and dry with clear skies. Dry hot days are often relieved by seasonal breezes. Winters are mild with moderate rain. Because Heraklion is further south than Athens, it has a warmer climate during winter but cooler during summer because of the Aegean Sea. The maximum temperature during the summer period is usually not more than 28 - 30 °C (Athens normal maximum temperature is about 5 °C higher). The minimum temperature record is -0.8 °C in the airport while in the port it has never dropped below 0 °C. Snowfalls are rare with the last significant snowfall with a measurable amount on the ground occurring in February 2004.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Heraklion falls in 11a hardiness zone.<ref name="meteo.gr">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

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Climate data for Heraklion
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Mean number of days with thunder 3.6 3.0 2.9 1.8 1.5 0.9 0.2 0.1 1.2 4.1 3.5 4.4 27.2
Mean number of days with hail 0.3 0.6 0.5 0.0 0.1 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.3 1.8
Average sea temperature °C (°F) 17.1
(62.8)
16.4
(61.5)
16.5
(61.7)
17.1
(62.8)
19.5
(67.1)
23.0
(73.4)
25.4
(77.7)
26.1
(79.0)
25.4
(77.7)
23.3
(73.9)
20.6
(69.1)
18.4
(65.1)
20.7
(69.3)
Mean daily daylight hours 10.0 11.0 12.0 13.0 14.0 15.0 14.0 13.0 12.0 11.0 10.0 10.0 12.1
Average Ultraviolet index 3 4 5 7 9 10 11 10 8 5 3 2 6.4
Source 1: NOAA (days with thunder and hail 1961-1990)<ref name=NCEI/>
Source 2: Weather Atlas <ref name="Weather Atlas">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation CitationClass=web

}}</ref>

File:Heraklion ilmastodiagrammi.png
Climate graph of Heraklion

Educational and Research InstitutionsEdit

CultureEdit

MuseumsEdit

ArtsEdit

The Cultural and Conference Center of Heraklion is a centre for the performing arts.

SportsEdit

The city is home to several sports clubs. Most notably, Heraklion hosts OFI and Ergotelis, two football clubs with earlier presence in the Greek Superleague, the top tier of the Greek football league system. Furthermore, the city is the headquarters of the Heraklion Football Clubs Association, which administers football in the entire region. Other notable sport clubs include Iraklio B.C. (basketball), Atsalenios (football) and Irodotos (football) in the suburbs of Atsalenio and Nea Alikarnassos respectively.

Notable Sport clubs based in Heraklion
Club Founded Sports Current Season
OFI 1925 Football, Basketball Superleague, Greek C Basket League
Ergotelis 1929 Football, Basketball Football League, Cretan Basket League
Iraklio 1928 Basketball Cretan Basket League
Irodotos 1932 Football, Basketball Football League, Cretan Basket League
Atsalenios 1951 Football Gamma Ethniki

Local TV stationsEdit

Notable peopleEdit

File:Kazantzakis Grab.jpg
Epitaph on Nikos Kazantzakis' grave. I hope for nothing, I fear nothing, I'm free.

Heraklion has been the home town of some of Greece's most significant people, including the novelist Nikos Kazantzakis (best known for Zorba the Greek), the poet and Nobel Prize winner Odysseas Elytis and the world-famous painter Domenicos Theotokopoulos (El Greco).

LiteratureEdit

Scientists and academiaEdit

Painting and sculptureEdit

Film industryEdit

MusicEdit

SpiritualityEdit

SportsEdit

  • Kyle Hamilton (born 2001), American football player<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref>

BusinessEdit

Politics and lawEdit

ClergyEdit

FashionEdit

International relationsEdit

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ConsulatesEdit

Twin towns and sister citiesEdit

Heraklion is twinned with:

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LocationEdit

     Fira     
 ChaniaRethymno  File:Brosen windrose.svg  Agios Nikolaos    
 TympakiMoires   Archanes    Ierapetra 

GalleryEdit

See alsoEdit

ReferencesEdit

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External linksEdit

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