Souda () is a town and former municipality in the Chania regional unit,

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 ...

. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality

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 ...

, of which it is a municipal unit. The municipal unit has an area of . It is an important ferry and naval port at the head of Souda Bay. Souda is to the east of central

, although the area in between is mostly built-up. The town is a relatively new settlement, built on what used to be salt beds and marshland. The Turks knew the area as 'Tuzla', their name for salt-beds. In the 1870s, they began to build a new settlement here which grew as the port expanded. Souda Bay is one of the deepest natural harbours in the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern ...

and is easy to defend. Now Souda is the arrival point for ferries from

Piraeus Piraeus ( ; ; , Ancient: , Katharevousa: ) is a port city within the Athens urban area ("Greater Athens"), in the Attica region of Greece. It is located southwest of Athens city centre along the east coast of the Saronic Gulf in the Ath ...

. There is also a naval base located in Souda and across the bay, for

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...

, with military accommodation and hospital in the town. Much of the command, particularly for US forces, is found across the bay on the Akrotiri. A grain silo overshadows the centre of town. Perhaps because of its nature as a working port and military town, it is not popular with tourists and can appear seedy, however, the central square was upgraded in 2020. It is well-served with shops of all types and some renowned fish restaurants in the old centre. The Allied War Cemetery, mostly of soldiers from

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 ...

, is found in Souda on the shore. There are 1,527 graves, mostly British with 447

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

ers and 197

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

ns. Buried in the cemetery is the archaeologist

John Pendlebury John Devitt Stringfellow Pendlebury (12 October 1904 – 22 May 1941) was a British archaeologist who worked for British intelligence during World War II. He was captured and Summary execution, summarily executed by German troops during the ...

. Pendlebury was the curator at

Knossos Knossos (; , ; Linear B: ''Ko-no-so'') is a Bronze Age archaeological site in Crete. The site was a major centre of the Minoan civilization and is known for its association with the Greek myth of Theseus and the minotaur. It is located on th ...

for the British School in

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and had been continuing excavations in Crete until the war. He was executed by the

Germans Germans (, ) are the natives or inhabitants of Germany, or sometimes more broadly any people who are of German descent or native speakers of the German language. The Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany, constitution of Germany, imple ...

in 1941 whilst working for British Intelligence.

Souda municipal unit

Souda was the main town in the former municipality of the same name, with the town hall found in Souda itself. This municipality was created in 1990 from the former community Souda, and was expanded with the former communities Kalami and Tsikalaria in 1997.Δ. Σούδας (Χανίων)
EETAA local government changes At the 2010

Kallikratis reform The Kallikratis Programme () is the common name of Greek law 3852/2010 of 2010, a major administrative reform in Greece. It brought about the second major reform of the country's administrative divisions following the 1997 Kapodistrias reform. ...

, the municipality opf Souda was absorbed into the municipality of Chania, of which it became a municipal unit. The municipal unit is subdivided into the communities Souda, Aptera and Tsikalaria. The municipal unit extends from Chania's hinterland (Souda and Tsikalaria) along the coast, taking in the villages of Kalami and Aptera. Around 8,400 people live in the municipal unit, the majority in Souda itself. Due to the area's beautiful views across the sea and up to the White Mountains and its proximity to Chania, there is a great deal of pressure to build new houses and apartments. However, there has been some protection afforded by the restrictions of having a military base in the area.

Sinking of HMS ''York'' during WWII

During

, the Royal Navy heavy cruiser HMS ''York'' was disabled at Souda Bay by two Italian explosive motorboats (Italian: ''barchini esplosivi'') of the Italian Decima Flottiglia MAS, launched by destroyers ''Crispi'' and ''Sella'' on 26 March 1941. Six motorboats entered the bay, led by Lieutenant Luigi Faggioni, and attacked three targets in pairs; the first was ''York'', second the tanker ''Pericles'' and last another ship at anchor. Three of the attacking craft had various problems, either mechanical or human, due to the extreme temperature conditions, but the other three successfully attacked their targets. Two motorboats, packed with 330-kilogramme (667 lb) charges in the bows, struck ''York'' amidships, flooding both boiler rooms and one engine room. Two seamen were killed.

Gallery

File:Souda_Island.jpg, The islet of Souda, to the right of a smaller islet called Leon, within Souda Bay. File:Souda Bay from the of the Venetian fortress at Souda Island.jpg, View of the islet of Leon, from the Venetian fortifications on the islet of Souda, within Souda Bay. File:Cliffs and venetian fortress of Souda.jpg, View from the walls of the Souda fortress.

References

External links

* {{Chania div Populated places in Chania (regional unit) Chania Mediterranean port cities and towns in Greece Souda Bay