Apokoronas () is a municipality and a former

province A province is an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire, Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

(επαρχία) in the Chania regional unit, north-west

Crete Crete ( ; , Modern Greek, Modern: , Ancient Greek, Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the List of islands by area, 88th largest island in the world and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, fifth la ...

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

. It is situated on the north coast of Crete, to the east of

Chania Chania (, , ), also sometimes romanization of Greek, romanized as Hania, is a city in Greece and the capital of the Chania (regional unit), Chania regional unit. It lies along the north west coast of the island Crete, about west of Rethymno ...

itself. The seat of the municipality is the village

Vryses Vryses () is a village in Crete, Greece, and the seat of the municipality of Apokoronas. It has a population of 854 inhabitants according to the 2021 census. It is now a popular tourist destination that has maintained its Cretan character. On Ne ...

. The municipality has an area of . It has a total of 75 villages.

Geography

Apokoronas extends from the foothills of the White Mountains north to the coast, in a wide plain with rolling hills. To the east, Cape Drapanon rises above the plain and extends out into the Sea of Crete. The area is very green and fertile, unusual for rocky Crete. The Kiliaris river, known in antiquity as 'Pyknos', runs through the region. Robert Pashley suggested that the name 'Apokoronas' came from the ancient city of Ippokoronas or Ippokoronion, also cited by

Strabo Strabo''Strabo'' (meaning "squinty", as in strabismus) was a term employed by the Romans for anyone whose eyes were distorted or deformed. The father of Pompey was called "Gnaeus Pompeius Strabo, Pompeius Strabo". A native of Sicily so clear-si ...

. This city may have been located near modern Nipos, or on the site of the Venetian fortress, Castel Apicorono, on an outcrop between Kalyves and Almyrida. The major towns of Apokoronas are Vamos, Armenoi and

, with police, municipal and utility offices as well as taverns and large churches; Kalyves, Almyrida and Georgioupoli are the largest beach resorts. Tourism and agriculture are the major local industries, with much construction and quarrying to satisfy the demands of many foreigners eager to buy or rent properties in what used to be beautiful and traditional villages. Gavalochori is among the more popular villages. Many residents or workers in

also have homes in the area. Apokoronas was the location of much of the filming of the movie '' Zorba the Greek''.

Municipality

The municipality Apokoronas was formed at the 2011 local government reform by the merger of the following 6 former municipalities, that became municipal units: * Armenoi * Asi Gonia * Fres * Georgioupoli *

Kryonerida Kryonerida () is a former municipality in the Chania regional unit, Crete, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Apokoronas, of which it is a municipal unit. The municipal unit has an area of . The seat of ...

* Vamos

Province

The province of Apokoronas () was one of the provinces of Chania Prefecture. It covered the same area as the current municipality. It was abolished in 2006.

References

{{Prefectures and provinces of Greece

External links

Municipality of Apokoronas, Government Website

Gavalochori Village

Gavalochori Village
Populated places in Chania (regional unit) Municipalities of Crete Provinces of Greece