ONTAS Traditional Hotel

The Venician Shipyards (Neoria)

by gale.blog.pl

As soon as you reach the Old Harbour, turn right and walk right. I adore the Shipyards, they are large and sound, something really great!

'The need for the presence of the Venician fleet in Crete forced Venice to build shipyards, (Arsenali or Neoria) where the ships were repaired in winter time. The south complex was completed in 1599, with the construction of 17 Neoria. In 1607 the construction of five more Neoria begins on the eastern basin of the harbour. These are known as the Moro Neoria and only two were ever completed. Today only 7 survive out of the 17. In their original form they were open on the side of the sea. The ceilings are arched, and they are connected with arched openings of the same thickness as the walls.'

Description copied from Chania.gr, awaiting authorization from webmaster and owner of the site.

By the way, Venetian architecture is present not only in Chania but also in Rethymno. In 13th century Chania went under the rule of the Venetians who left quite a lot of architectural remains here.