The Maritime Museum of Crete is located in a neoclassical building at the entrance of the Firkas Fortress and was inaugurated on May 27, 1973, coinciding with the 32nd anniversary of the Battle of Crete. The museum aims to showcase and preserve Greece’s maritime heritage, with a particular focus on the seafaring traditions of Crete.
The museum’s collection includes ship models, various nautical instruments, and devices such as calipers, barometers, anemometers, navigational tools, speed calculators, torpedo discs, magnetic compasses, meteorological instruments, sextants, planispheres, and torpedo-boat steering instruments. It also features paintings, portraits, and historical photographs, including a notable photograph of the raising of the flag during Crete’s Union with Greece at the Firkas Fortress in Chania on December 1, 1913. Additionally, the museum exhibits relics such as naval uniforms, heroic memorabilia of fallen sailors, weapons from the landing operations of 1912-13, fire axes, and artifacts from hit squads.
The exhibits are organized by historical periods: Bronze Age, Classical and Hellenistic, Venetian, Byzantine and Post-Byzantine, Turkish rule, the Struggle for Independence (1650 to 1909), the Balkan Wars (1912-1913), World War II, and the Postwar Period.
Furthermore, the Maritime Museum of Crete has been granted the use of one of the “Neoria (Shipyards) of Moro,” which hosts an exhibition dedicated to traditional and ancient shipbuilding techniques.
Means of Access:
- On Foot
Disabled Access:
- Yes
