Loutro () (Greek: "Bath") lies in the municipality of

Sfakia Sfakiá () is a mountainous area in the southwestern part of the island of Crete, in the Chania (regional unit), Chania regional unit. It is considered to be one of the few places in Greece that have never been fully occupied by foreign powers. ...

, on the south coast of

Chania Chania (, , ), also sometimes romanization of Greek, romanized as Hania, is a city in Greece and the capital of the Chania (regional unit), Chania regional unit. It lies along the north west coast of the island Crete, about west of Rethymno ...

regional unit in west

Crete 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 ...

, between

Chora Sfakion Image:Chora Sfakion 1941 evacuation monument.jpg, 200px, Monument commemorating the evacuation during WW2 of British and ANZAC forces from Hora Sfakion in May 1941. ''Click on the left plaque for a closer view'' rect 198 536 320 1082 rect 0 0 900 ...

and Agia Roumeli, the exit to the

Samaria Gorge The Samariá Gorge ( or just ''Φάραγγας'') is a National Park of Greece since 1962 on the island of Crete – a major tourist attraction of the island – and a World's Biosphere Reserve. The gorge is in southwest Crete in the reg ...

. The whole area is known as

. The village got its name from the Greek word for "bath," for the many ancient baths found in the area.

History

Porto Lytro - Francesco Basilicata - 1618

Loutro is the site of the ancient city of Phoenix (Finikas), which was the port town of ancient Anopolis, and an important harbour in

Hellenistic In classical antiquity, the Hellenistic period covers the time in Greek history after Classical Greece, between the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC and the death of Cleopatra VII in 30 BC, which was followed by the ascendancy of the R ...

and Roman times. It later became the wintertime port of the town of Sfakia because of its natural protection during harsh weather. Today nothing remains of ancient Phoenix except the name preserved by the small village in the bay west of Loutro. Later the Saracen pirates used Loutro as a lair from which to attack the ships sailing south of Crete. The Venetians managed to drive out the

Saracens file:Erhard Reuwich Sarazenen 1486.png, upright 1.5, Late 15th-century History of Germany, German woodcut depicting Saracens ''Saracen'' ( ) was a term used both in Greek language, Greek and Latin writings between the 5th and 15th centuries to ...

and fortified Loutro with a small fortress whose ruins are still visible today. Another fortress preserved in better condition in Loutro is evidence of the Turkish presence here.

Access

Loutro is accessible only by foot or by sea. Ferries run daily connecting Loutro to nearby towns and the exit-point of the Samaria Gorge.

Economy

Much of Loutro's economy is based on tourism and fishing.

References

External links

Loutro in Crete
* {{coord, 35, 12, N, 24, 5, E, source:plwiki_region:GR, display=title Populated places in Chania (regional unit) Sfakia

History

Access

Economy

See also

References

External links