Achlada () is a village and a community in the
Cretan
Crete ( ; , Modern Greek, Modern: , Ancient Greek, Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the List of islands by area, 88th largest island in the world and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, fifth la ...
municipality of
Malevizi
Malevizi () is a municipality in Heraklion regional unit, Crete, Greece. The seat of the municipality is the town of Gazi. The municipality has an area of .
Municipality
The municipality Malevizi was formed at the 2011 local government reform by t ...
, and belongs to the municipal unit of
Gazi
A ''ghazi'', or ''gazi'' (, , plural ''ġuzāt'') is an individual who participated in ''ghazw'' (, '' ''), meaning military expeditions or raids against non-Muslims. The latter term was applied in early Islamic literature to expeditions led by ...
, in
Heraklion regional unit.
The inhabitants are shepherds and farmers who cultivate mostly fruits and vegetables in the surrounding hills and landscape, which are few kilometres from the sea shore. In the village is the church of Saint John the Prodrome and Saint Triphon with a wooden carved iconostasis. There is also the old elementary school that serves nowadays as a feast hall, and a newly built hotel on ecotourism that enhances rural cultural tourism.
In recent years, local people, politicians and other interested parties have been discussing the restoration of parts of the village.
Community of Achlada
The community of Achlada consists of the following seven settlements whose total population is 921 inhabitants, based on the 2021 census.
*Achlada – the district’s seat.
*
Agia Pelagia
Agia Pelagia (, " Saint Pelagia") is a popular seaside resort in the municipality of Malevizi, 23 km northwest of Crete's capital city of Heraklion. In former times, Agia Pelagia was a tiny fishing village and a place for the residents of nea ...
*Ammoudi
*Lygaria
*Mades
*Mononaftis
*Xirokampos
History
The origin of the name is from the tree (αχλάδα ή αχράς – wild
pear
Pears are fruits produced and consumed around the world, growing on a tree and harvested in late summer into mid-autumn. The pear tree and shrub are a species of genus ''Pyrus'' , in the Family (biology), family Rosaceae, bearing the Pome, po ...
tree). In the
Venetian archives the village is mentioned as Aclada with 63 inhabitants, at which time it belonged to the
Mylopotamos region. Achlada used to belong, as a feudal estate, to the brothers Giorgios and Franciscos Mondinos having 35 houses and 2 churches (Gerola Monumenti veneti, III.).
Sources
*''Heraklion and its Prefecture, Heraklion Prefecture’s Edition'' (Το Ηράκλειο και ο Νομός του. Έκδοση Νομαρχίας Ηρακλείου).
*''ΜΝΗΜΕΙΑ & ΙΣΤΟΡΙΚΕΣ ΑΝΑΦΟΡΕΣ ΣΤΟ ΔΗΜΟ ΓΑΖΙΟΥ (ΠΟΛΙΤΙΣΤΙΚΟΣ ΣΥΛΛΟΓΟΣ ΦΟΔΕΛΕ 2001).''
*''Το Μαλέβιζι, από τα προΐστορικά χρόνια μέχρι σήμερα. ΟΡΓΑΝΙΣΜΟΣ ΑΝΑΠΤΥΞΗΣ ΜΑΛΕΒΙΖΙΟΥ (ΟΡ.Α.ΜΑ) 1998.''
External links
{{Malevizi div
Populated places in Heraklion (regional unit)
Malevizi