Description of the attraction
The Maritime Museum of Crete is located in the city of Chania near the Venetian fortress of Firka in a small two-story building. The fortress itself is located at the entrance to the city harbor and is a historical site, since on December 1, 1913, the Greek flag was raised here as a sign of the unification of the island of Crete and Greece.
The Maritime Museum was founded in 1973 with the aim of promoting the island's maritime traditions and history. The permanent collection of the museum includes 2,500 items. The exposition is presented in chronological order and covers the period from the Bronze Age to the present day. The museum's collection features ship models, marine-themed paintings, nautical instruments, navigation equipment, maps, photographs, documents and much more. Many of the museum exhibits were raised from the seabed and are of great historical value.
The first floor of the museum is dedicated to ancient times. Here are models of old ships, as well as a model of the fortified city and port of the Kingdom of Candia (the official name of Crete, from the Venetian period to the Ottoman period). On the second floor, you can see the models of ships of the modern Greek navy and an exhibition dedicated to the German invasion of Crete. The museum has a special exhibition displaying the amazing beauty and diversity of the marine environment, with a rich collection of shells from different parts of the world.
The Maritime Museum has its own library, conducts research programs and collaborates with the Institute of Ancient Shipbuilding and Technology (joint reconstruction of an ancient Minoan ship). The museum also conducts educational programs for people of all ages, including children and people with disabilities. Today the Maritime Museum of Crete successfully competes with European museums in terms of the quality of exhibits.
