Heraklion ( el, Περιφερειακή ενότητα Ηρακλείου) is one of the four regional units of

Crete Crete ( el, Κρήτη, translit=, Modern: , Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the 88th largest island in the world and the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, Sardinia, Cyprus, ...

. The capital is the city of

Heraklion Heraklion or Iraklion ( ; el, Ηράκλειο, , ) is the largest city and the administrative capital city, capital of the island of Crete and capital of Heraklion (regional unit), Heraklion regional unit. It is the fourth largest city in Gree ...

Geography

The regional unit of Heraklion borders on the regional units of Rethymno to the west and Lasithi to the east. Farmlands are situated in the central and the northern parts, at the coast and in valleys. The mountains dominate the rest of the regional unit, notably the south. The main mountains are parts of Ida or Idi Mountains to the west and Asterousia in the south. The regional unit includes the island of Dia to the north. Except for the mountains which receive mild to cool winters unlike northern Greece, the warm to hot Mediterranean climate dominates the regional unit.

Ancient history

Within the Heraklion regional unit's boundaries are a number of significant

Neolithic The Neolithic period, or New Stone Age, is an Old World archaeological period and the final division of the Stone Age. It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wide-ranging set of developments that appear to have arisen independently in several pa ...

and Minoan settlements, most notably the ancient palace complexes of Knossos and

Phaistos Phaistos ( el, Φαιστός, ; Ancient Greek: , , Minoan: PA-I-TO?http://grbs.library.duke.edu/article/download/11991/4031&ved=2ahUKEwjor62y3bHoAhUEqYsKHZaZArAQFjASegQIAhAB&usg=AOvVaw1MwIv3ekgX-SxkJrbORipd ), also transliterated as Phaesto ...

. While both archaeological sites evince Neolithic habitation from 7000 BC, it is the rich finds of Minoan civilisation, which flourished approximately 2800 to 1450 BC, that command the greatest scholarly attention. Important ancient cities are: * Knossos *

* Gortys * Tylissos * Malia * Lyttos *

Amnisos Amnisos, also Amnissos and Amnisus (Greek: or ; Linear B: 𐀀𐀖𐀛𐀰 ''A-mi-ni-so''), is the current but unattested name given to a Bronze Age settlement on the north shore of Crete that was used as a port to the palace city of Knossos. I ...

Kaloi Limenes Kaloi Limenes or Kali Limenes ( ) is a village and port in the Heraklion regional unit, southern Crete, in Greece, located 70km (43.5 miles) south-west of the city of Heraklion. It has 21 inhabitants (2011). It is known as a major bunkering spot ...

Population history

*1991 - 263,868 *2001 - 292,482 *2011 - 305,490

Administration

The regional unit Heraklion is subdivided into 8 municipalities. These are (number as in the map in the infobox): * Archanes-Asterousia (2) *

Faistos Faistos ( el, Φαιστός) is a municipality in Heraklion regional unit, Crete, Greece. The seat of the municipality is the village Moires. It is named after the ancient city Phaistos, located in the municipality. The municipality has an area o ...

(7) *

Gortyn Gortyn, Gortys or Gortyna ( el, Γόρτυν, , or , ) is a municipality, and an archaeological site, on the Mediterranean island of Crete away from the island's capital, Heraklion. The seat of the municipality is the village Agioi Deka. Gorty ...

a (4) *

(''Irakleio'', 1) *

Hersonissos Hersonissos ( el, Χερσόνησος, meaning "peninsula", ''Chersónisos'', ), also transliterated as ''Chersonissos'' and ''Hersónisos'', is a town and a local government unit in the north of Crete, bordering the Mediterranean / Aegean Sea. T ...

(''Chersonisos'', 8) * Malevizi (5) * Minoa Pediada (6) * Viannos (3)

Prefecture

The Heraklion prefecture ( el, Νομός Ηρακλείου) was created in 1915, after Crete joined with the rest of Greece. As a part of the 2011 Kallikratis government reform, the regional unit Heraklion was created out of the former prefecture Heraklion. The prefecture had the same territory as the present regional unit. At the same time, the municipalities were reorganised, according to the table below.

Provinces

*Province of Pyrgiotissa - Voroi *Province of Kainourgio - Moires *Province of Malevizi - Agios Myronas *Province of Temenos - Heraklion *Province of

Pediada Pediada ( el, Πεδιάδα, "plain") is a region and former Provinces of Greece, province of Heraklion Prefecture, Crete, Greece. Its territory corresponded with that of the current municipality Chersonisos, the municipal units Kastelli, Herakli ...

- Kasteli *Province of Monofatsi - Pyrgos *Province of Viannos - Pefkos ''Note:'' Provinces no longer hold any legal status in

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders wi ...

Transport

* GR-90/ E65 * GR-97 * GR-99

Notable people

* El Greco ( medieval Castilian nickname meaning "the Greek"), by which Δομήνικος Θεοτοκόπουλος ''Domênikos Theotokópoulos'', is best known. (Born 1541, Fodele,

and died on April 7, 1614,

Toledo, Spain Toledo ( , ) is a city and municipality of Spain, capital of the province of Toledo and the ''de jure'' seat of the government and parliament of the autonomous community of Castilla–La Mancha. Toledo was declared a World Heritage Site by UN ...

), a world-famous painter, sculptor and

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

Nikos Kazantzakis Nikos Kazantzakis ( el, ; 2 March ( OS 18 February) 188326 October 1957) was a Greek writer. Widely considered a giant of modern Greek literature, he was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature in nine different years. Kazantzakis's n ...

was born in the village ''Varvaro'' (renamed to Myrtia in 1965Name changes of settlements in Greece
/ref>) The municipal unit in which Myrtia is located, was named after him.

Communications

The following television channels serve the prefecture: * Creta Channel * Kriti TV

Line notes

References

* Arthur J. Evans, (1921–35) ''The Palace of Minos'', volumes 1-4 * C. Michael Hogan
''Knossos fieldnotes'', Modern Antiquarian (2007)
* Ian Swindale

Retrieved 13 May 2013.

External links

{{Authority control Prefectures of Greece Regional units of Crete