Arkadi Monastery stands at about 500 metres in the hills roughly 30 minutes south-east of Rethymno, and is the single most politically charged building in Crete. Its 16th-century Venetian-Baroque church facade is the image on the old 100-drachma note, but the reason Cretans come is November 1866: hundreds of Cretan fighters and their families, besieged inside by Ottoman troops, blew up the powder magazine rather than surrender. The event turned Arkadi into an international cause and the monastery into the emblem of the Cretan struggle for union with Greece. There is a small museum of documents, weapons and relics, and an ossuary in the former windmill outside the walls.
In sintesi
- Drive from Rethymno
- About 30 minutes, roughly 23 km
- Altitude
- About 500 m
- Church built
- 1587, with a Venetian Baroque facade
- Key date
- 8 November 1866, when the powder magazine was detonated during the Ottoman siege
- Entrance fee
- Charged at the gate and paid on the day; the amount is not published on the tour pages
- Dress code
- Shoulders and knees covered; it is a working monastery
Why Arkadi matters
On 8 November 1866, with an Ottoman force of many thousands outside the walls, several hundred Cretans sheltering in the monastery detonated the gunpowder store beneath them. Almost everyone inside died, along with a large number of the attacking troops. News of it reached Europe within weeks and made Cretan autonomy a diplomatic question rather than a local insurgency. The date is a Cretan national anniversary, and the monastery's abbot and the fighters are commemorated as martyrs.
What you see
The church, built in 1587, has a two-aisled facade of Corinthian columns, a triple bell tower and a pediment, closer to a Venetian church front than to a Byzantine one, which is exactly what it is. The courtyard around it is walled, with monks' cells, a refectory that still shows sabre marks, storerooms and the roofless powder magazine where the explosion happened, left as it was.
The museum holds the 1866 material: the standard, weapons, vestments, icons and documents. Outside the entrance, the old windmill houses an ossuary containing the skulls of those killed.
Setting
The monastery sits in olive groves and vineyards on a plateau, and the drive up from the coast is part of the visit. It is roughly 23 kilometres from Rethymno on a good road, half an hour door to door, and combines naturally with Eleftherna, Margarites and the Melidoni Cave in the same stretch of hill country.
Practicalities
Arkadi is a working monastery and an entrance fee is charged at the gate; the operator does not publish the amount and it is paid on the day. Shoulders and knees should be covered. An hour is enough for the church, the courtyard, the museum and the ossuary.
Buono a sapersi
What happened at Arkadi Monastery in 1866?+
During the Cretan revolt against Ottoman rule, several hundred fighters and their families took refuge inside. Besieged and about to be overrun on 8 November 1866, they blew up the monastery's powder magazine, killing themselves and many of the attackers. The act made Cretan independence an international issue.
How far is Arkadi Monastery from Rethymno?+
About 23 km, roughly 30 minutes by car on a good road through the hills.
Is there an entrance fee?+
Yes, an admission charge is collected at the gate and paid on the day. It is not included in tour prices and the amount is not published on the tour pages.
How long do you need at Arkadi?+
About an hour covers the church, the courtyard, the refectory, the powder magazine, the museum and the ossuary in the windmill outside the walls.
Is there a dress code?+
Yes. It is an active monastery, so shoulders and knees should be covered for both men and women.