The
Historical Museum of Crete presents a comprehensive view of Cretan history from early Christian times to the present day. It was founded in 1953 by the
Society of Cretan Historical Studies, which had been established two years earlier. The museum is housed in a two-storey neoclassical building, which was constructed in 1903 on the site of an earlier mansion belonging to the Kalokerinos family. The second building, designed by K. Tsandirakis, was clearly influenced by morphological features of the earlier one, and was later listed as a historical monument. The new museum extension to the west constituted an attempt to combine traditional and modern architecture.
The original goal of those founding the Historical Museum of Crete was to collect and preserve valuable archaeological, ethnographic and historical material deriving from the medieval and modern periods in Cretan history. The process of enriching the collections, extending exhibition space and redefining the museum's aims has never ceased. Prolific research and publishing activity, the organisation of temporary exhibitions, educational programmes and the use of audiovisual media all form part of the modern educational role adopted by the Historical Museum of Crete over time. The same approach also includes the gradual re-organisation of the collections on display so as to appeal to a wider range of visitors, thus offering them the opportunity to understand the many facets of historical development on Crete from early Byzantine times to the present day.
Historical Museum of Crete (Video)
Visitors' Information
Address
Historical Museum of Crete
A. & M. Kalokerinos House
27, Sofokli Venizelou Ave. /
7, Lysimachou Kalokerinou St.
71202 Heraklion, Crete, Greece
Tel: (++30) 2810 283219, 288708
Fax: (++30) 2810 283754
@: info@historical-museum.gr
URL: www.historical-museum.gr
Information on opening hours and tickets can be found
here
The Historical Museum has its own Cafe (on Level 2), with one indoor seating area and two outdoor ones - the north deck looking out to sea, and the south courtyard, in the shade of the tall trees by the Neoclassical facade.
