Apokoronas ( el, Αποκόρωνας) is a municipality and a former

province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman '' provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

(επαρχία) in the Chania regional unit, north-west

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, ...

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 ...

. It is situated on the north coast of Crete, to the east of

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 ...

itself. The seat of the municipality is the village Vryses. The municipality has an area of .

Geography

Apokoronas extends from the foothills of the White Mountains north to the coast, in a wide plain with rolling hills. To the east, Cape Drapanon rises above the plain and extends out into the Sea of Crete. The area is very green and fertile, unusual for rocky Crete. The Kiliaris river, known in antiquity as 'Pyknos', runs through the region.

Robert Pashley Robert Pashley (4 September 1805 – 29 May 1859) was a 19th-century English traveller, lawyer and economist. Pashley was born in York and he studied at Trinity College, Cambridge. Distinguished in mathematics and Classics, in 1830 he was elected ...

suggested that the name 'Apokoronas' came from the ancient city of Ippokoronas or Ippokoronion, also cited by Strabo. This city may have been located near modern Nipos, or on the site of the Venetian fortress, Castel Apicorono, on an outcrop between Kalyves and

Almyrida Almyrida ( el, Αλμυρίδα) is a seaside resort village located in the Apokoronas region of the northwest coast of the island of Crete, Greece. The village is approximately 20 kilometers from Chania, in the Chania regional unit. Traditiona ...

. The major towns of Apokoronas are Vamos, Armenoi and Vryses, with police, municipal and utility offices as well as taverns and large churches; Kalyves, Almyrida and Georgioupoli are the largest beach resorts. Tourism and agriculture are the major local industries, with much construction and quarrying to satisfy the demands of many foreigners eager to buy or rent properties in what used to be beautiful and traditional villages. Gavalohori is among the more popular villages for foreign buyers, with a large amount of often low-quality building taking place. Many residents or workers in

also have homes in the area. Apokoronas was the location of much of the filming of the movie '' Zorba the Greek''.

Municipality

The municipality Apokoronas was formed at the 2011 local government reform by the merger of the following 6 former municipalities, that became municipal units: * Armenoi * Asi Gonia * Fres * Georgioupoli * Kryonerida * Vamos

Province

The province of Apokoronas ( el, Επαρχία Αποκορώνου) was one of the provinces of Chania Prefecture. It covered the same area as the current municipality. It was abolished in 2006.

References

{{Prefectures and provinces of Greece Populated places in Chania (regional unit) Municipalities of Crete Provinces of Greece