Spinalonga / Agios Nikolaos / Kritsa

Spinalonga  

The island of Spinalonga is located in the north of the prefecture of Lasithi and has a long and turbulent history. It was used as a fortress in antiquity, a stronghold during the Venetian era, a settlement and a place of exile during the Ottoman years and an important port at the end of the 19th century. Spinalonga is better known, however, as the place of isolation of patients suffering from leprosy, Hansen’s disease.

Agios Nikolaos  

Cross the lagoons small bridge and walk to the colourful harbour of this picturesque city, full of cafes, savers, shops and open-air markets. As the capital of the prefecture of Lasithi, Agios Nikolaos is especially dear to the travellers and can be an ideal base for your excursions to eastern Crete. According to mythology, Artemis and Athena, goddesses of antiquity, bathed in the water of the Voulismeni Lake Lagoon.

Kritsa 

This centuries-old settlement is known for its traditional architecture, its cottage and textile industries, its festivals and celebrations, as well as the excellent quality olive oil it produces. Scenes from Jules Dassin’s film ‘He who must die’’, an adaptation of Nikos Kazantzakis’ novel ‘’Christ Recrucified’’, were filmed here.

The History

Agios Nikolaos was settled in the late Bronze Age by Dorian occupants of Lato, at a time when the security of the Lato hillfort became a lesser concern and easy access to the harbour at Agios Nikolaos became more important. 

The name Agios Nikolaos means Saint Nicholas. Its name lies on the second syllable of the word Nikolaos. Agios Nikolaos or Ayios Nikolaos (alternative romanizations of the Greek) is a common place name in Greece and Cyprus, since Saint Nicholas is the patron saint of sailors in Greece. 

Lake Vouliagmeni is the main attraction in Agios Nikolaos and has been associated with many ancient and modern urban myths. The most famous myth says that the lake where the goddess Athena and Artemis Vritomartis took their bath, while another myth, later, says that the lake had no bottom, but it was disproved in 1853, where it was found that the depth is 64 metres. A feature of the lake is the vertical walls, which had led to the theory that was created by volcanic sedimentation, a theory which over the years is losing ground, since today is believed that the lake is the mouth of an underground river. Now the Lake is one of the most popular sights of the city, in a beautiful natural environment where also are many restaurants and cafes. 

Near the town there’s an archaeological site of ancient Priniatikos Pyrgos. It appears to have been first settled in the Final Neolithic, circa 3000 BC. Activity on the site continued through out the Minoan Bronze Age and the Classical Greek and Roman periods, spanning a total of up to 4.000 years. 

Spinalonga island is a small island off the north of the Elounda Gulf. In Antiquity, its name was Kalydon and was renamed during the Venetian rule, which derives from the “Spina Lunga”, meaning “long thorn”. In 1905 it was used as the Leper Hospital and the lepers of Crete had been taken there. Since 1913, when Crete was united with Greece lepers from around the country and gradually started arriving here, while Spinalonga was marked as the International Leper Hospital of Europe. The most lepers were led to Spinalonga by force, since there would spend the rest of their lives and the label at the entrance that said “incoming to deposit all hope.” During the German Occupation Spinalonga was perhaps the only place in Greece that the foot of the conqueror did not step in. The leper colony closed in 1957, when the last inhabitants were treated. In 2001 the history of Spinalonga island attracted the attention of British author Victoria Hislop, who, shaken, wrote the novel “The Island” which was translated into many languages and became a bestseller. Followed by the transfer to the small screen, which made known the story of Spinalonga across the Panhellenic and it has established itself as a symbol of social exclusion. The access to Spinalonga is by boat from Elounda or Plaka and the visitor can see the Venetian vaulted tanks, the building of the Guard, the gunpowder in the church of Agios Nikolaos and the houses where they had lived sufferers of the Hansen disease.