Rethymno

Rethymno (Greek: Ρέθυμνο, [ˈreθimno], also Rethimno, Rethymnon, Réthymnon, and Rhíthymnos) is a city of little more than 30,000 people (near 40,000 for the municipal unit) in Greece, the capital of Rethymno regional unit on the island of Crete, a former Latin Catholic bishopric as Retimo(–Ario) and former Latin titular see.

Rethymno

Ρέθυμνο
View of Rethymno
Flag
Rethymno
Location within the region
Coordinates: 35°22′N 24°28′E
CountryGreece
Administrative regionCrete
Regional unitRethymno
MunicipalityRethymno
Government
 • MayorGiorgos Marinakis (PASOK)
 • Municipal unit126.5 km2 (48.8 sq mi)
Highest elevation
15 m (49 ft)
Lowest elevation
0 m (0 ft)
Population
 (2011)[1]
 • Municipal unit
37,462
 • Municipal unit density300/km2 (770/sq mi)
Community
 • Population34,300 (2011)
 • Area (km2)26.777
Time zoneUTC+2 (EET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+3 (EEST)
Postal code
741 00
Area code(s)28310
Vehicle registrationΡΕ
Websitewww.rethymno.gr

Rethymno was originally built during the Minoan civilization (ancient Rhithymna and Arsinoe). The city was prominent enough to mint its own coins and maintain urban growth. One of these coins is today depicted as the crest of the town: two dolphins in a circle.

History
Main articles: Rhithymna and Arsinoe (Crete)
View of the old harbour
Inside the Fortezza of Rethymno
The new port

This region as a whole is rich with ancient history, most notably through the Minoan civilisation centred at Knossos east of Rethymno.[2] Rethymno itself began a period of growth when the Venetian conquerors of the island decided to put 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 and Hellenic-Roman 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 Neratze 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
Rethymno Lighthouse
Street and the belltower of Megalos Antonios church in the fond
Beach of Rethymno

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:[3]

Population of Rethymno [4]
Settlements19401951196119711981199120012011
Rethymno 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:

Literature

Pandelis Prevelakis wrote Το χρονικό μιας πολιτείας (1937), The Chronicle of my 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.[5] 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.1945FootballEarlier presence in Gamma Ethniki
NO Rethymnou1963Water PoloPresence in A1 Ethniki women
EA Rethymniakou1983Football, Track and FieldEarlier presence in Beta Ethniki
Rethymno B.C.1986BasketballPresence in A1 Ethniki
OPE Rethymnou1992VolleyballPresence 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.[6] Finally, in Rethymno, Tria Monastiria area is located the international research Institute of Plasma Physics and Laser[7] 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
Average high °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)
Average low °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: Annual Weather Averages. Holiday Weather. 2016 http://www.holiday-weather.com/rethymnon/averages/. Retrieved 12 September 2016. Missing or empty |title= (help)

Notable locals
Royalty and politics
Other

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

Rethymno is twinned with :

  • Panorama of the city
  • Rimondi Fountain
  • Venetian loggia
  • Guora Gate (Megali Pyli), old city gate
  • View of the old town
  • Sultan Ibrahim mosque
  • The catholic church of Agios Antonios
  • Eleftherios Venizelos statue
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See also

References
Notes
  1. "Απογραφή Πληθυσμού - Κατοικιών 2011. ΜΟΝΙΜΟΣ Πληθυσμός" (in Greek). Hellenic Statistical Authority.
  2. C. Michael Hogan, Cydonia, The Modern Antiquarian, Jan. 23, 2008
  3. Kallikratis law Greece Ministry of Interior (in Greek)
  4. Hellenic Statistical Authority, Digital Library (ELSAT), Census (Greek and English)
  5. "Χωρίς "Βαρδινογιάννεια" και το 2013". rethnea.gr. Retrieved 11 November 2015.
  6. "Ελληνικό Μεσογειακό Πανεπιστήμιο". Ελληνικό Μεσογειακό Πανεπιστήμιο (in Greek). Retrieved 2019-12-30.
  7. "Plasma|Ρέθυμνο|www.ippl.hmu.gr|IPPL HELLENIC MEDITERRANEAN UNIVERSITY". cppl-1 (in Greek). Retrieved 2019-12-30.
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