Gonia Monastery Kolymbari
If you want to visit a monastery whilst you are in Crete I would highly recommend you to come here as not only is it easy to get to from Chania but it is really beautiful, also it is still a working monastery.
If you’re not too sure if you want to visit a monastery but you think you should do something ‘cultural’ whilst you’re in Crete, then this would be ideal. It’s not too big and it has a fascinating Icon Museum (the only one in Crete) and you can stop in Kolymbari for a coffee or a drink afterwards.
The church is very typical of other monasteries and the inside is highly ornate with many beautiful icons and gold chandeliers. You can light a candle for a small fee. (You’re not allowed to take photos inside the church).
When you walk through the imposing gates it opens out into a courtyard with the Church in the middle. Most Monasteries follow this design, with the monk’s cells all down one side ….
and the working part of the Monastery on the other.
The monastery is still a working monastery and not just a museum. It’s quite small and has a small unique museum in the cellar which houses the largest collect of Icons in Crete along with books, silverware and ecclesiastical garments, some of which are really gorgeous.
Museum
It has been in the centre of many battles from the Turks through to, most recent, the Germans. You can still see a canon ball, which is lodged in the wall, from the Turkish attack.
- 1618 – 1634: The monk Vlasios founded the new monastery of Gonia in its current position.
- 1805: The chapels of St. Nicholaos and St. Charalambos were built.
- 1821: The monastery operated a hospital for the wounded rebels.
- 1899: The great bell tower was built to replace the old one.
- 1941: Before the occupation of Crete by the Germans, Englishmen engineers of the airport of Maleme were hosted there. The monks took part in the Battle of Crete.
- The Germans occupied the monastery and the monks were imprisoned in Chania prisons after the Germans found guns inside the chapel.
- 1942: (Passion Week – Easter): The Monastery was reopened, as it had been turned into a Camp until the liberation.
- Today, the monastery owns a great collection of precious relics, icons and religious treasures from the 15th and 17th century. (text from Iera Mitropolis Kissamou and Selinou)
There is a tiny cinema room where a 15min video is on permanent loop. You’ll have to watch the video to find out what this hanging piece of wood is used for!
Weblinks
Opening Times
This is the closest monastery to the villa, only a 20 min drive west in Kolymbari, it opens from 09.00-13.00 hrs and 14.00 till dusk in the summer months, it has a car-park and if you have small children there is a small deer enclosure across the road where they can spot Bambi and her mother. There aren’t any café facilities on site but there is a public loo. There are cafes and restaurants in Kolymbari. Entry is only €2 each.
