Nea Kydonia ( el, Νέα Κυδωνία) is a former municipality in the
Chania regional unit,
Crete
Crete ( el, Κρήτη, translit=, Modern: , Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the 88th largest island in the world and the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, Sardinia, Cyprus, and ...
,
Greece
Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...
. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality
Chania
Chania ( el, Χανιά ; vec, La Canea), also spelled Hania, is a city in Greece and the capital of the Chania regional unit. It lies along the north west coast of the island Crete, about west of Rethymno and west of Heraklion.
The muni ...
, of which it is a municipal unit.
The municipal unit has an area of .
It is situated on the western outskirts of Chania. It saw fierce fighting during the
Battle of Crete
The Battle of Crete (german: Luftlandeschlacht um Kreta, el, Μάχη της Κρήτης), codenamed Operation Mercury (german: Unternehmen Merkur), was a major Axis airborne and amphibious operation during World War II to capture the island ...
during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
and there the main
prisoner of war
A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610.
Belligerents hold prisoners of wa ...
camp for Allied soldiers in Western Crete was in
Galatas.
The seat of the municipality of Nea Kydonia was in the village of
Daratsos. Galatas has a popular beach at Kalamaki and a port called Kato Galatas.
Agia Marina,
Stalos and Daratso are other principal settlements of the municipality, as well as the uninhabited island of Agii Theodori. It was part of the former
province
A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''Roman province, provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire ...
of
Kydonia
Kydonia or Cydonia (; grc, Κυδωνία; lat, Cydonia) was an ancient city-state on the northwest coast of the island of Crete. It is at the site of the modern-day Greek city of Chania. In legend Cydonia was founded by King Cydon (), a son ...
.
Ancient History
Nearby in the modern city of Chania, is the ancient city of
Kydonia
Kydonia or Cydonia (; grc, Κυδωνία; lat, Cydonia) was an ancient city-state on the northwest coast of the island of Crete. It is at the site of the modern-day Greek city of Chania. In legend Cydonia was founded by King Cydon (), a son ...
, over whose
ruins
Ruins () are the remains of a civilization's architecture. The term refers to formerly intact structures that have fallen into a state of partial or total disrepair over time due to a variety of factors, such as lack of maintenance, deliberate ...
the modern city has been built.
[Hogan, 2008] Kydonia was a powerful Cretan city in the period 600 to 200
BC.
See also
*
List of settlements in the Chania regional unit
This is a list of settlements in the Chania regional unit, Greece.
* Afrata
* Agia Marina
* Agia Roumeli
* Agia
* Agia Eirini
* Agios Ioannis
* Alikampos
* Alikianos
* Amygdalokefali
* Anopoli
* Anoskeli
* Aptera
* Armenoi
* Aroni
...
*
Chania Plain The Chania Plain is a relatively level landform spreading southward from the city of Chania on the island of Crete in the present day country of Greece. The Chania Plain has been used as a logical study area for air pollution transport in the vicin ...
Line notes
References
* National Statistical Service of Greece (ΕΣΥΕ). (Greek)
* C. Michael Hogan
''Cydonia'', The Modern Antiquarian, Jan. 23, 2008
External links
Official site
Populated places in Chania (regional unit)
{{Crete-geo-stub