Kissamos

Kissamos (Greek: Κίσσαμος) is a town and municipality, multiple (former) bishopric and Latin titular see in the west of the island of Crete, Greece. It is part of the Chania regional unit and of the former Kissamos Province which covers the northwest corner of the island. The city of Kissamos is also known as Kastelli Kissamou and often known simply as Kastelli after the Venetian castle that was there. It is now a port and fishing harbour, with a regular ferry from the Peloponnese via Kythira. A town museum is located in the old Venetian governor's palace and there have been important archaeological finds in the town, including fine mosaics, dating from the Roman city of Kisamos (Κίσαμος, Latinized as Cisamus). The head town of the municipality (Δήμος Κισσάμου) is Kastelli-Kissamos itself.

Kissamos Κίσσαμος
Kissamos
Kissamos Location within the region
Coordinates: 35°29′N 23°39′E
Country	Greece
Administrative region	Crete
Regional unit	Chania
Government
• Mayor	Theodoros Stathatkis
Area
• Municipality	341.0 km^2 (131.7 sq mi)
• Municipal unit	149.0 km^2 (57.5 sq mi)
Population  (2011)[1]
• Municipality	10,790
• Municipality density	32/km^2 (82/sq mi)
• Municipal unit	7,579
• Municipal unit density	51/km^2 (130/sq mi)
Community [1]
• Population	4,275 (2011)
Time zone	UTC+2 (EET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+3 (EEST)
Postal code	734 00
Area code(s)	28220
Vehicle registration	ΧΝ, XB
Website

History

Main article: Cisamus

Strabo said that ancient Cisamus was dependent on Aptera and was its naval arsenal.[2] The Peutinger Table distinguishes two port towns in Crete called Cisamus,[3] Modern Kissamos (at 35°29′38″N 23°39′25″E) is much further west than where Aptera is now placed (at 35°27′46″N 24°8′31″E). It was excluded already by Pashley in 1837 as being, of the two ancient maritime Cretan cities named Kisamos, the one associated with Aptera.[4] In the past, when the port of Aptera was thought to be present-day Kissamos, some supposed Aptera to be identical with Polyrrhenia, and Kissamos to be the port of Polyrrhenia.[5] However, Strabo and other ancient sources say that Polyrrhenia's port was at Phalasarna on the west coast.[6][7]

Ecclesiastical history

The Rotunda of Michael Archangelos in Episkopi - Kissamos

Kissamos archeological museum

Mosaic in museum

Ancient Cisamus became a Christian bishopric, a suffragan of the metropolitan see of Gortyna, the capital of the Roman province of Crete. Only two of its first-millennium bishops are named in extant contemporary documents: Theopemptus (according to 18th-century Lequien), Nicetas (according to 20th-century Janin) at the Trullan Council in 692, and Leo at the Second Council of Nicaea in 787.[8]

Orthodox bishopric

The bishopric is still a residential see of the Eastern Orthodox Church of Crete.[8]

Latin diocese

After the Venetian conquest of Crete in 1212, Kissamos became a Latin Church diocese. The names of more than 20 residential Latin bishops from then until the end of the 16th century are known, including :[9][10][11]

Suffragan Bishops of Kisamo

(incomplete)

• Angelo Barbarigo (1383 – 1406.09.21)
• Prospero Santacroce (1548.03.22 – 1572?)

Titular see

No longer a residential bishopric, Kissamos is today listed by the Catholic Church as a titular bishopric,[12] (Latin: Cisamus, Curiate Italian Cisamo) since it was suppressed as residential see around 1600 AD.

It has been vacant for decades, having had the following (often not consecutive) incumbents, all of the lowest (episcopal) rank :

• Fortunato Bisleti (1728.11.15 – 1749)
• Miguel Anselmo Álvarez de Abreu y Valdéz (1749.09.22 – 1765.04.22), as Auxiliary Bishop of Tlaxcala (Mexico) (1749.09.22 – 1765.04.22)
• Jan Pettani (1767.02.05 – death ?) as emeritate, former Bishop of Šibenik (Croatia) (1763.07.18 – 1767.02.05)
• Martin Nugk von Lichtenhoff (1775.11.15 – 1780.06.21), as Apostolic Prefect of Lausitz (Germany) (1774.01.17 – death 1780.06.21)
• José O.S. Casquete Prado (1797.12.18 – death 1838.02.02)
• Dominik Mayer (1863.10.01 – death 1875.05.04), as Military Vicar of Austria (Austria) (1863.10.01 – 1875.05.04)
• Adrien-François Rouger (王吾伯), Lazarists (C.M.) (1883.09.07 – 1887.03.31)
• Thomas William Wilkinson (1888.05.15 – 1889.12.28)
• Charles Maurice Graham (1891.09.25 – 1902.10.25)
• Jean Muradian (1905.08.07 – 1911.07.11)
• Heinrich Joeppen (1913.10.27 – 1920.02.22)
• Lajlo Budanovic (1927.02.28 – 1958.03.16)
• Nikollë Troshani (1958.04.18 – death 1994.05.25), Apostolic Administrator of Durrës (Albania) (1958.04.18 – 1992) and on emeritate

Municipality

Kissamos municipality

The municipality of Kissamos was formed at the 2011 local government reform by the merger of three former municipalities, which became municipal units:[13]

• Kissamos
• Innachori
• Mythimna

The municipality has an area of 341.018 km² (131.668 sq mi) and the municipal unit has an area of 149.034 km² (57.542 sq mi).[14] The municipal unit of Kissamos includes the Gramvousa peninsula (Chernisos Gramvousas Χερσόνησος Γραμβούσας) in the northwest and the adjacent Gramvousa islets, as well as the islet of Pontikonisi, and the villages of Sfinari, Koukounaras, Polirinia, Platanos, Lousakia, Sirikari, Kallergiania and Kalathena. It forms the extreme western part of the region, and of Crete. It is bordered by Platanias to the East, and by Kantanos-Selino to the south.

Former province

The province of Kissamos (Greek: Επαρχία Κισσάμου) was one of the provinces of the Chania Prefecture. Its territory corresponded with that of the current municipality of Kissamos, and the municipal units of Kolymvari and Voukolies (partly).[15] It was abolished in 2006.

Notable locals

• Manos Katrakis (1908–1984), actor
• Giorgis Koutsourelis (1914–1994), Cretan music composer

See also

• List of communities of Chania

References

1. "Απογραφή Πληθυσμού - Κατοικιών 2011. ΜΟΝΙΜΟΣ Πληθυσμός" (in Greek). Hellenic Statistical Authority.
2. J.A. Cramer, A Geographical and Historical Description of Ancient Greece (1828), Vol. 3, pp. 364, 379
3. John D. Pendlebury, The Archaeology of Crete (Biblo & Tannen 1969 ISBN 978-0-81960121-6), p. 21
4. Robert Pashley, Travels in Crete (J. Murray 1837), vol. 1, pp. 49, 55
5. Edward Falkener, A Description of Some Important Theatres and Other Remains in Crete (Trübner 1854), p. 26
6. Pendlebury (1969), p. 14
7. J.A. Cramer, A Geographical and Historical Description of Ancient Greece (1828), Vol. 3, p. 364
8. Raymond Janin, v. Cisamus, in Dictionnaire d'Histoire et de Géographie ecclésiastiques, vol. XII, Parigi 1953, coll. 844-845
9. Konrad Eubel, Hierarchia Catholica Medii Aevi, vol. 1, pp. 185–186; vol. 2, p. 127; vol. 3, p. 166; vol. 5, p. 158; vol. 6, p. 166; vol. 8, pp. 205–206
10. "Diocese of Kisamos" Catholic-Hierarchy.org. David M. Cheney. Retrieved February 29, 2016
11. "Titular Episcopal See of Cisamus" GCatholic.org. Gabriel Chow. Retrieved February 29, 2016
12. Annuario Pontificio 2013 (Libreria Editrice Vaticana 2013 ISBN 978-88-209-9070-1), p. 870
13. Kallikratis law Greece Ministry of Interior (in Greek)
14. "Population & housing census 2001 (incl. area and average elevation)" (PDF) (in Greek). National Statistical Service of Greece. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2015-09-21.
15. "Detailed census results 1991" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-03-03. (39 MB) (in Greek and French)

Sources and external links

See Chania Region for maps

• Municipality description
• Kissamos TV Official Website
• GTP description
• The district of Kissamos
• GCatholic with Latin residential and titular incumbent biography links