The Archaeological Museum of Chania () is a museum that was located in the former Venetian Monastery of Saint Francis at Chalidon Street,

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 ...

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 was established in 1962. In 2020 this location closed and Chania's new archaeological museum relocated to 15 Skra Str. Chalepa, in 2022.

Building

The exact date that the building of the original museum was constructed is unknown although it was mentioned in writing as standing during the great earthquake of 1595 and being the largest in the city. It served as a Venetian church inhabited by

Franciscan The Franciscans are a group of related organizations in the Catholic Church, founded or inspired by the Italian saint Francis of Assisi. They include three independent Religious institute, religious orders for men (the Order of Friars Minor bei ...

friars, and became an important monument of the city. During the period of the Ottoman occupation, the building was used as a

mosque A mosque ( ), also called a masjid ( ), is a place of worship for Muslims. The term usually refers to a covered building, but can be any place where Salah, Islamic prayers are performed; such as an outdoor courtyard. Originally, mosques were si ...

and named after Yussuf Pasha. After

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

it served as a storehouse for military equipment, until it was converted into the museum in 1962. In 2020, the Museum closed and reopened in 2022 at a new location on Skra Street in Halepa. File:AMC - Flavische Büste.jpg, Portrait bust of a Roman man File:AMC - Kaiser Hadrian.jpg, Roman emperor

Hadrian Hadrian ( ; ; 24 January 76 – 10 July 138) was Roman emperor from 117 to 138. Hadrian was born in Italica, close to modern Seville in Spain, an Italic peoples, Italic settlement in Hispania Baetica; his branch of the Aelia gens, Aelia '' ...

File:AMC - Mosaik 2.jpg, Roman floor mosaic depicting

Dionysos In ancient Greek religion and myth, Dionysus (; ) is the god of wine-making, orchards and fruit, vegetation, fertility, festivity, insanity, ritual madness, religious ecstasy, and theatre. He was also known as Bacchus ( or ; ) by the Greek ...

and

Ariadne In Greek mythology, Ariadne (; ; ) was a Cretan princess, the daughter of King Minos of Crete. There are variations of Ariadne's myth, but she is known for helping Theseus escape from the Minotaur and being abandoned by him on the island of N ...

File:AMC - Sarkophag Armeni 3.jpg, Late Minoan sarcophagus, 1400-1200 BC.

Interior

The museum contains a substantial collection of

Minoan The Minoan civilization was a Bronze Age culture which was centered on the island of Crete. Known for its monumental architecture and Minoan art, energetic art, it is often regarded as the first civilization in Europe. The ruins of the Minoan pa ...

and

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

artifacts excavated from around the city of Chania and the surrounding regional unit, including pieces from the ancient cities of

Kydonia Kydonia ( or ), also known as Cydonia (, ''Kydōnía'') was an ancient city located at the site of present-day Chania near the west end of the island of Crete in Greece. The city is known from archaeological remains dating back to the Minoan e ...

, Idramia, Aptera, Polyrinia,

Kissamos Kissamos () is a town and a municipality 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 town of Kissamos is also known as ...

Elyros Elyrus or Elyros () was a town of ancient Crete, which the ''Periplus of Pseudo-Scylax'' places between Kydonia, Cydonia and Lissus (Crete), Lissus. It had a harbour, Syia (Συΐα), situated on the south coast of the island, 60 stadion (unit), s ...

, Irtakina, Syia and Lissos, and also from

Axos Axus or Axos (), also Oaxus or Oaxos (Ὄαξος) and Waxus or Waxos (Ϝάξος), was a city and ''polis'' (city-state) of ancient Crete. According to Virgil, it was situated on a river; which, according to Vibius Sequester, gave its name to Ax ...

and Lappa in Rethymno regional unit. The museum contains a wide range of coins, jewellery, vases, sculpture, clay tablets with inscriptions, stelae and mosaics. The museum has a Roman floor mosaic, depicting

and

. The Archaeological Museum of Chania also has an ancient

Cycladic The CYCLADES computer network () was a French research network created in the early 1970s. It was one of the pioneering networks experimenting with the concept of packet switching and, unlike the ARPANET, was explicitly designed to facilitate in ...

style vessel from Episkopi,

and a number of busts including one of Roman emperor

, found at the Dictynaion sanctuary in 1913 and a late Minoan sarcophagus from the necropolis of Armeni, dated to 1400–1200 BC. There is also a spherical flask, noted for its unusual ceramic type, dated to the Late Minoan III period. Early Cycladic tall cup, marble, 3200-2500 BC, AM Chania, 076148.jpg, Cycladic type tall cup, marble, 3200-2500 B.C. Cycladic figurine, female, marble, Crete, 2800-2200 BC, AM Chania, 076188.jpg, Cycladic type figurine, Koumasa variety, 2800-2200 B.C. File:AMC - Vogelgefäß.jpg, Early Minoan bird-shaped vessel. Koumasa ware, 3000 - 2300 B.C. File:AMC - Minoisches Schiff.jpg, Model of an early Minoan ship. Odegetria Monastery area in Asteroussia, 1900 - 1700 B.C. Imprint of Minoan seal, Kastelli, 1450-1400 BC, AM Chania KH 1563, 076138.jpg, Imprint of Minoan seal, Kastelli, 1450-1400 B.C. Minoan pottery, Neopalatial, Mameloukou Trypa cave, AM Chania,076133.jpg, Neopalatial Minoan pottery Clay pyxis, Minoan funeral ceremony, Aptera, 1300-1250 BC, AM Chania, 076150.jpg, Clay pyxis, Minoan funeral ceremony, 1300-1250 B.C. Clay oxen wheel, a toy, Crete, 800-700 BC, AM Chania, 076156.jpg, Clay oxen wheel, a toy, 800-700 B.C. File:AMC - Vogelköpfige Frauen.jpg, Clay figurines of bird-faced women. Boeotioan workshop, 600 - 575 B.C. File:AMC - Goldenes Diadem.jpg, Ancient Greek golden diadem Glass vessels fromworkshop at Tarra, Chania, 5th c BC - 3rd c AD, AM Chania, 076167.jpg, Hellenistic glassware Statue of Artemis, Crete, Roman age, AM Chania, L 79, 076161.jpg, Statue of Artemis, Roman age AMC Roman emperor Hadrianus.jpg, Bust of Roman emperor Hadrianus Glass vessels fromworkshop at Tarra, Chania, 5th c BC - 3rd c AD, AM Chania, 076166.jpg, Ancient Roman glassware AMC - Mosaik 1.jpg, Roman Age mosaic, Dionysos and satyr

References

External links

Archaeological Museum of Chania
{{Authority control

Museums in Chania Museums established in 1962 1962 establishments in Greece Former churches in Greece