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  • 21 Aug, 2019

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Rethimno
Rethymno (also Rethymnon; Greek: Ρέθυμνο [ˈreθimno]) is a city in Greece on the island of Crete. It is the capital of Rethymno regional unit, and has a population of more than 35,000 inhabitants (nearly 40,000 for the municipal unit). It is believed to have been built on the site of the earlier city of Rhithymna.

History

Arabic scrypt on a mosque converted to a church
View of the old harbour
Inside the Fortezza of Rethymno

Rethymno is believed to have been built on the site of the earlier city of Rhithymna. Some sources mention a city called Arsinoe which some scholars have proposed stood at the same site.

Rethymno began a period of growth when the Venetian conquerors of the island decided to establish an intermediate commercial station between Heraklion and Chania, acquiring its own bishop and nobility in the process. Today's old town (palia poli) was almost entirely built by the Republic of Venice. It is one of the best-preserved old towns in Crete.

From circa 1250 the city was the seat of the Latin Diocese of Retimo, which was renamed Retimo–Ario after the absorption in 1551 of the Diocese of Ario and as suppressed only after the Turkish conquest.

The town still maintains its old aristocratic appearance, with its buildings dating from the 16th century, arched doorways, stone staircases, Byzantine remains, the small Venetian harbour and narrow streets. The Venetian Loggia houses the information office of the Ministry of Culture and Sports. A Wine Festival is held there annually at the beginning of July. Another festival, in memory of the destruction of the Arkadi Monastery, is held on 7–8 November.

The city's Venetian-era citadel, the Fortezza of Rethymno, is one of the best-preserved castles in Crete. Other monuments include the Neradje Mosque (the Municipal Odeon arts centre), the Great Gate (Μεγάλη Πόρτα or "Porta Guora"), the Piazza Rimondi and the Loggia.

The town was captured by the Ottoman Empire in 1646 during the Cretan War (1645–69) and they ruled it for almost three centuries. The town, called Resmo in Turkish, was the centre of a sanjak (administrative part of a province) during Ottoman rule.

During the Battle of Crete (20–30 May 1941), the Battle of Rethymno was fought between German paratroopers and the Second Australian Imperial Force and Hellenic Army. Although initially unsuccessful, the Germans won the battle after receiving reinforcements from Maleme in the Northwestern part of the island.

Today the city's main income is from tourism, many new facilities having been built in the past 20 years. Agriculture is also notable, especially for olive oil and other Mediterranean products.

Municipality

Dusk airview of the Old Harbour of Rethymno
Rethymno Lighthouse
Street and the belltower of Megalos Antonios church in the fond
Beach of Rethymno
Aquila Rithymna Beach

The municipality of Rethymno was formed at the 2011 local government reform by the merger of the following 4 former municipalities, that became municipal units:

Population of Rethymno
Settlements 1940 1951 1961 1971 1981 1991 2001 2011
Rethymno (city) 8,648 11,057 14,999 14,969 17,136 23,355 28,987 32,468
Agia Eirini 96 88 63 47 34 63 49 75
Agios Markos - - - - 18 65 - -
Anogeia 50 25 25 21 13 15 89 131
Gallos 315 274 252 180 146 205 430 922
Giannoudi 92 82 78 30 22 23 96 116
Kastellakia - 45 27 36 105 - - -
Koumpes - 106 - - - - - -
Metochi Albani 67 79 31 - - - - -
Megalo Metochi (Risvan) - 33 25 - 6 28 29 46
Mikro Metochi - - - - 29 91 188 149
Misiria 294 212 - - - - - -
Xiro Chorio 214 219 132 90 - 114 131 221
Perivolia 853 805 - - - - - -
Platanes 343 488 - - - - - -
Tria Monastiria - - - - 18 105 107 172
Total 10,972 13,513 15,632 15,373 18,190 24,064 31,687 34,300

Culture

Rethymno is home to the following museums:

The Treasure Hunt of Rethymno is a game played by local people and takes place two weeks before Carnival.

Literature

Pandelis Prevelakis wrote Το χρονικό μιας πολιτείας (1937), The Chronicle of a Town, a nostalgic depiction of Rethymno from the period of the Cretan State (1898) to the expulsion of the Cretan Turks (1924).

Sports

Rethymno hosted the international athletics meeting known as Vardinogianneia. The athletics meeting stopped in 2012 due to Greek financial crisis. Rethymno has many sport clubs with presence in Panhellenic championships of various sports. Below is alist of the main sport clubs of Rethymno.

Sport clubs based in Rethymno
Club Founded Sports Achievements
Neos Asteras Rethymno F.C. 1945 Football Earlier presence in Gamma Ethniki
NO Rethymnou 1963 Water Polo Presence in A1 Ethniki women
EA Rethymniakou 1983 Football, Track and Field Earlier presence in Beta Ethniki
Rethymno B.C. 1986 Basketball Presence in A1 Ethniki
OPE Rethymnou 1992 Volleyball Presence in A1 Ethniki women

Education

In the Rethymno Campus of the University of Crete are located the School of Philosophy, the School of Education, the School of Social, Economics and Political Sciences, and the University Library of the University of Crete. On a yearly basis, there are about 8.000 students studying at "Galos" where the Campus and the Academic Institute of Mediterranean Studies are located. Also in Rethymnon is located the School of Music and Optoacoustic Technologies of the Hellenic Mediterranean University. Finally, in Rethymno, Tria Monastiria area is located the international research Institute of Plasma Physics and Laser of the Hellenic Mediterranean University which is the access point of the National Research Facility HELLAS-CH .

Geography

Climate

Climate data for Rethymno, Greece
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Mean daily maximum °F (°C) 55
(13) 		55
(13) 		59
(15) 		64
(18) 		73
(23) 		82
(28) 		86
(30) 		86
(30) 		81
(27) 		72
(22) 		64
(18) 		57
(14) 		69.5
(20.8)
Mean daily minimum °F (°C) 45
(7) 		45
(7) 		46
(8) 		52
(11) 		57
(14) 		64
(18) 		70
(21) 		70
(21) 		64
(18) 		59
(15) 		54
(12) 		48
(9) 		56.166
(13.43)
Source: <Holiday Weather >"Rethymnon, Greece - Average Annual Weather - Holiday Weather". Rethymnon: Annual Weather Averages. Holiday Weather. 2016. Retrieved 12 September 2016.

Notable locals

Royalty and politics
Other

International relations

See also: List of twin towns and sister cities in Greece

Rethymno is twinned with :

See also

References

Notes
  1. ^ "Αποτελέσματα Απογραφής Πληθυσμού - Κατοικιών 2021, Μόνιμος Πληθυσμός κατά οικισμό" [Results of the 2021 Population - Housing Census, Permanent population by settlement] (in Greek). Hellenic Statistical Authority. 29 March 2024.
  2. ^ Richard Talbert, ed. (2000). Barrington Atlas of the Greek and Roman World. Princeton University Press. p. 60, and directory notes accompanying. ISBN 978-0-691-03169-9.
  3. ^ Lund University. Digital Atlas of the Roman Empire.
  4. ^ Getzel M. Cohen, The Hellenistic Settlements in Europe, the Islands, and Asia Minor (Volume 17 of Hellenistic culture and society). University of California Press, 1995 ISBN 0520914082 p132
  5. ^ Richard Talbert, ed. (2000). Barrington Atlas of the Greek and Roman World. Princeton University Press. p. 60, and directory notes accompanying. ISBN 978-0-691-03169-9.
  6. ^ Lund University. Digital Atlas of the Roman Empire.
  7. ^ "ΦΕΚ B 1292/2010, Kallikratis reform municipalities" (in Greek). Government Gazette.
  8. ^ Hellenic Statistical Authority, Digital Library (ELSTAT), Census (Greek and English)
  9. ^ "Largest treasure hunt game". guinnessworldrecords.com. Retrieved 12 February 2017.
  10. ^ "Χωρίς "Βαρδινογιάννεια" και το 2013". rethnea.gr. 4 January 2013. Retrieved 11 November 2015.
  11. ^ "Ελληνικό Μεσογειακό Πανεπιστήμιο". Ελληνικό Μεσογειακό Πανεπιστήμιο (in Greek). Retrieved 2019-12-30.
  12. ^ "Plasma|Ρέθυμνο|www.ippl.hmu.gr|IPPL HELLENIC MEDITERRANEAN UNIVERSITY". cppl-1 (in Greek). Retrieved 2019-12-30.
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