Hersonissos

Coordinates: 35°19′N 25°23.4′E / 35.317°N 25.3900°E / 35.317; 25.3900
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Hersonissos
Χερσόνησος
Chersónisos
UTC+3 (EEST)
Websitewww.hersonissos.gr

Hersonissos (

Mediterranean / Aegean Sea. The town is about 25 kilometers east of Heraklion and west of Agios Nikolaos. What is usually called Hersonissos is in fact its peninsula and harbour. It is part of the Heraklion regional unit. It is situated 25 km from the Heraklion airport and 27 km from the Heraklion port. The seat of the local government unit is the village of Gournes.[2]

Geography

The seaside resort of Hersonissos is officially the Port of Hersonissos (Greek: Λιμένας Χερσόνησου, Liménas Chersónissou) in distinction to the village of Upper Hersonissos (Greek: Άνω Χερσόνησος, Ano Chersónissos) further inland. Through tourism, the port town developed from the small harbour which served the original village, now known as Old Hersonissos.

History

The ancient town of

metropolitan see of Gortyna
.

The names of some of its bishops appear in extant documents: Anderius took part in the

Trullan Council in 692; and another Sisinnius at the Second Council of Nicaea in 787.[3]

Latin bishopric

After the Venetian conquest of Crete in 1212, the existing dioceses, such as Chersonesus, were administered by Latin Church bishops.

The line of residential Latin bishops of Chersonesus ended with the conquest of Crete by the Ottomans in 1669.[4]

Titular see

No longer a residential bishopric, Chersonnesus in Creta is today listed by the

titular bishopric,[5]
as such nominally restored in 1787 under the name ‘Chersonesus’, changed in 1933 to Chersonesus in Creta, avoiding confusing with other Latin sees called Chersonesus.

It is vacant, having had the following incumbents, all of the lowest (episcopal) rank:

Municipality of Hersonissos

The municipality of Hersonissos was formed at the 2011 local government reform by the merger of the following 4 former municipalities, that became municipal units.[2] These were Episkopi, Gouves, Hersonissos and Malia.

The municipality has an area of 272.17 km2 (105.09 sq mi), the municipal unit 70.98 km2 (27.41 sq mi).[6]

Ancient remains

Roman fountain in Hersonissos

At the modern settlement of Hersonissos is the site of the ancient town of Chersonesos, an important seaport from

Lyttos. The contemporaneous pleasure port is built over the remains of the Roman port. Some traces of those remains, most of them submerged, are still visible in some places. On the seaside street there is a pyramidal Roman fountain with mosaics of fishing scenes. On the top of the rocky hill behind the port stand the ruins of an early Christian basilica
with floor mosaics.

The vicinity of Hersonissos is noted for its prehistoric

archaeological finds. On the coast approximately one kilometer to the east of Hersonissos was an ancient temple dedicated to the goddess Britomartis.[7]

William Smith’s Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography states:

'CHERSONE’SUS (Χερσόνησος) … the haven of

Cnossus. Robert Pashley found ruins close to a little port on the shore, and the actual names of the villages Khersónesos and Episcopianó, indicate that here is to be found what was once the ancient port of Lyctus, and afterwards became an Episcopal city.[8]

The episcopal see associated with this town is now a titular see (“Chersonesus in Creta”) of the Catholic Church.[5]

Tourism

Hersonissos is a resort area in Crete, which also hosts the only golf club on the island.[9] Tourist sites include; the Hersonissos Aquarium,[10] Labyrinth Theme Park,[11] and the Dinosauria Park in Gournes. There are several beaches in Hersonissos, some with blue flag status. These include Potamos (blue flag) Karteros, Tobruk, Arina (municipal beach), Vathianos Kampos, Kokkini Hani, Gournes, Gouves, Apolselemis, Analipsi, Anissara (blue flag), Sarantaris (municipal beach), Hersonissos, Stalida, Klotsani, Malia and Potamos (municipal beach and blue flag).[12]

Gallery

  • Village of Agriana
    Agriana Village
  • Analipsis
    Analipsi
  • Anisaras
    Anissaras Village
  • Village of Avdou
    Avdou village
  • Golf Club of Crete
  • Village of Gonies
    Gonies Village
  • Hersonissos Coastline View
    Hersonissos Coastline
  • Kera Village
    Village of Kera
  • Lychnostatis Open Air Cretan Museum
    Lychnostatis Museum
  • Port of Hersonissos
    Hersonissos Port
  • Village of Potamies
    Potamies Village
  • Water Adventure
    Water Parks
  • Kardiotissa Panagia
    Panagia Kardiotissa
  • Piskopiano Traditional Village
    Koutouloufari Village
  • Window view towards Thymarmi

Line notes

  1. ^ "Απογραφή Πληθυσμού - Κατοικιών 2011. ΜΟΝΙΜΟΣ Πληθυσμός" (in Greek). Hellenic Statistical Authority.
  2. ^ a b "ΦΕΚ A 87/2010, Kallikratis reform law text" (in Greek). Government Gazette.
  3. ^ Michel Lequien, Oriens christianus in quatuor Patriarchatus digestus, Paris 1740, Vol. II, coll. 269-272
  4. ^ Raymond Janin, v. 1. Chersonnèse, in Dictionnaire d’Histoire et de Géographie ecclésiastiques, vol. XII, Paris 1953, coll. 635-636
  5. ^ ), p. 868
  6. ^ "Population & housing census 2001 (incl. area and average elevation)" (PDF) (in Greek). National Statistical Service of Greece. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2015-09-21.
  7. ^ R.E.Bell, 1989
  8. ^ William Smith (editor), Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography (1854), vol. 1, p. 607
  9. ^ "Home". cretegolfclub.com.
  10. ^ https://www.cretaquarium.gr CretAquarium
  11. ^ "Home".
  12. ^ "Crete with Kids: Hersonissos". 8 June 2017.

Sources and external links