Palaiochora Παλαιόχωρα | |
|---|---|
 Town of Palaiochora | |
  Palaiochora | |
| Coordinates:35°15′N23°45′E / 35.250°N 23.750°E /35.250; 23.750 | |
| Country | Greece |
| Administrative region | Crete |
| Regional unit | Chania |
| Municipality | Kantanos-Selino |
| Municipal unit | Pelekanos |
| Elevation | 56 m (184 ft) |
| Population (2021)[1] | |
• Community | 2,181 |
| Time zone | UTC+2 (EET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+3 (EEST) |
| Postal code | 730 01 |
| Area code(s) | 28230 |
| Vehicle registration | ΧΝ |
Palaiochora (Greek:Παλαιόχωρα or Παλιόχωρα) is a small town inChania regional unit,Greece. It is located 70 km south ofChania, on the southwest coast ofCrete and occupies a small peninsula 400 m wide and 700 m long. The town is set along 11 km of coastline bordering theLibyan Sea. It is the seat of the municipality ofKantanos–Selino and its population was 2,181 in the 2021 census.[1]
Palaiochora's economy is based on tourism and agriculture (mainly the cultivation oftomatoes in greenhouses, and alsoolive oil production). It has been a holiday destination since the early 1970s when it was popular withhippies.
Palaiochora has crystal clear waters, well organised beaches, and isolated small anchorages. It is served by numerous hotels, restaurants, tavernas, cafés, and bars. Facilities in Palaiochora include bank branches, apost office, a central telephone office, a health centre, doctor's offices, dentists, chemists, a police station, a coast guard and customs office, and many types of stores. Ferry boats connect Palaiochora withSougia,Agia Roumeli,Loutro,Chora Sfakion, andGavdos.
Local attractions include the abundant wild flowers in the spring, the opportunity to see Venetian and Byzantine frescoes in some of the local churches (including in Anidri and Voutas), and a museum dedicated to the Acretans in the town itself. The nearby village of Azogires, 5 km away, has a museum dedicated to the area as well as the now uninhabited Monastery of the 99 Holy Fathers and what is said to be the largest evergreen plane tree on the island. In 2009, a plan was announced to open a number of signposted walking routes in the area. The town is on the European E4 walking trail.
Palaiochora stands on the ruins of the ancient city ofKalamydi.
In 1278, theVenetian general Marino Gradenigo built a fort in the Palechora area, called the "Selino Kasteli". The fort gave its name to the whole province, previously known as 'Orina', which was then renamed 'Selino'. The fort was destroyed in 1332 and rebuilt in 1334. Near the fort, the Venetians established a new settlement for workers and merchants called Vourgos. The generalHayreddin Barbarossa destroyed the fort in 1539, but it was refurbished in 1595 by Dolf. In 1645, theTurks conquered the town and modified the fort to suit their needs.
In 1834 an English traveler namedRobert Pashley found the fort completely destroyed and the whole area uninhabited. Only a granary and one or two small buildings remained. In 1866 the resettlement of Paleochora began.
In December 1866, during theCretan uprising against the Ottoman Turks, the BritishgunboatHMS Assurance evacuated some 340 women and children from Paleochora, then known as Selino Castelli (or Selino Kastelli), and took them to Piraeus for safety. This caused a major international incident since theOttoman authorities accused the British of siding with the Cretan rebels. Russian gunboats followed suit, evacuating refugees from Loutro and Sougia, east of Paleochora.
During theBattle of Crete duringWorld War II, the town was the scene of fighting between motorcycle-riding troops of the German 95th Reconnaissance Battalion and the Eighth Greek Regiment (Provisional) with elements of the Cretan Gendarmerie. The Germans built a number of gun emplacements by the Venetian Fortezza, and their remains are still visible.
The general trend ofurbanization that began in other parts of Greece in the 1960s had already started in the previous decade on the nearby island ofGavdos. During that period the islanders exchanged their land on Gavdos for former Turkish holdings on Crete, which had now become exchangeable through a state program. They created a community known as 'Gavdiotika', in the 'old town' section of Paleochora.
Palaiochora has ahot-summer Mediterranean climate (Csa in theKöppen climate classification). It has hot dry summers and very mild winters. Palaiochora falls in 11a plant hardiness zone.[2] On June 27, 2007 Palaiochora recorded an astonishing minimum temperature of 35.8 °C.[3] Furthermore on the night between 25 and 26 of June 2007 the temperature did not drop below 38.0 °C.[4]
| Climate data for Palaiochora 5 m a.s.l. (2006–2024) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 22.5 (72.5) | 22.9 (73.2) | 25.9 (78.6) | 30.6 (87.1) | 36.9 (98.4) | 45.0 (113.0) | 44.9 (112.8) | 44.1 (111.4) | 39.8 (103.6) | 33.9 (93.0) | 29.9 (85.8) | 23.3 (73.9) | 45.0 (113.0) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 16.1 (61.0) | 16.3 (61.3) | 18.0 (64.4) | 20.7 (69.3) | 24.7 (76.5) | 29.8 (85.6) | 33.1 (91.6) | 32.9 (91.2) | 29.4 (84.9) | 25.0 (77.0) | 21.5 (70.7) | 17.9 (64.2) | 23.8 (74.8) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 13.4 (56.1) | 13.6 (56.5) | 15.0 (59.0) | 17.6 (63.7) | 21.4 (70.5) | 26.2 (79.2) | 29.6 (85.3) | 29.6 (85.3) | 26.3 (79.3) | 22.1 (71.8) | 18.7 (65.7) | 15.3 (59.5) | 20.7 (69.3) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 10.7 (51.3) | 10.9 (51.6) | 12.0 (53.6) | 14.4 (57.9) | 18.0 (64.4) | 22.6 (72.7) | 26.0 (78.8) | 26.3 (79.3) | 23.1 (73.6) | 19.1 (66.4) | 15.9 (60.6) | 12.6 (54.7) | 17.6 (63.7) |
| Record low °C (°F) | 2.8 (37.0) | 1.2 (34.2) | 4.1 (39.4) | 7.9 (46.2) | 12.3 (54.1) | 14.6 (58.3) | 19.7 (67.5) | 20.9 (69.6) | 16.6 (61.9) | 13.2 (55.8) | 7.0 (44.6) | 3.3 (37.9) | 1.2 (34.2) |
| Average rainfall mm (inches) | 104.5 (4.11) | 90.6 (3.57) | 47.9 (1.89) | 19.9 (0.78) | 15.0 (0.59) | 2.3 (0.09) | 0.2 (0.01) | 2.6 (0.10) | 17.8 (0.70) | 38.9 (1.53) | 72.0 (2.83) | 114.0 (4.49) | 525.7 (20.69) |
| Source 1:National Observatory of Athens Monthly Bulletins (Oct 2006 – Mar 2024)[5] | |||||||||||||
| Source 2: Palaiochora N.O.A station[6] andWorld Meteorological Organization[7] | |||||||||||||
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)