Drapanias (Greek: Δραπανιάς) is a small village in northwestern Crete, in the regional unit of Chania. It was the principal town in the Cretan municipality of Kissamos. It was built in the ruins of the ancient town of Methymna.

Drapanias
Δραπανιάς
Aerial view of Drapanias
Aerial view of Drapanias
Drapanias is located in Greece
Drapanias
Coordinates: 35°29′31″N 23°42′18″E / 35.492°N 23.705°E / 35.492; 23.705
CountryGreece
Administrative regionCrete
Regional unitChania
MunicipalityKissamos
Municipal unitMythimna
Elevation
38 m (125 ft)
Population
 (2021)[1]
 • Community409
Time zoneUTC+2 (EET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+3 (EEST)
Postal code
73400

The nearby village of Ano Drapanias ("Upper Drapanias") is sometimes considered to be part of Drapanias, with the northern beachside areas being referred to as Kato Drapanias ("Lower Drapanias").[citation needed]

Frequent KTEL buses connect the village with various locations, such as Kissamos and Chania.[2]

The village and its people are memorialized in several works by the Cretan author Kimon Faradakis.[citation needed]

Population

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Historical population
YearPop.±%
1981515—    
1991348−32.4%
2001462+32.8%
2011427−7.6%
2021409−4.2%
Source: Population censuses[3][4][5][1]

History

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Evidence of settlements at Drapanias dates back to circa 1600 BCE during the Greek Bronze Age, at the Minoan archaeological site of Nopigeia-Drapanias.[6]

Drapanias is also considered to be a possible site[7] of the Cretan city of Methymna,[8] a settlement that survived into Roman times as well.[9][10] A Roman bath on the site subsequently had a church dedicated to Saint George built into it, which has wall paintings dating to the early 15th century CE.[8]

Along with the rest of Crete, from 1205 to 1669, Drapanias was under the control of Venice under the Kingdom of Candia.[11] During this period, the Villa Trevisan was constructed 3 km (1.9 mi) outside the village limits.[12]

Other surviving sites in the village include a tower and well dating to the Ottoman Greek period.[citation needed]

During the 1821 Greek War of Independence, the ship Terpsichore landed at Drapanias in order to besiege the Venetian fortress at Kissamos, which was ultimately successful in restoring Crete to Greek rule.[13]

After the 2011 local government reform, Drapanias, which had been the seat of municipality of Mythimna, became part of the municipality of Kissamos as the Mythimna municipality was absorbed into it.[14]

On January 25, 2022, the Egyptian freighter Manassa Rose M ran aground on the beach in the village and subsequently broke into two pieces.[15][16]

References

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  1. ^ a b "Αποτελέσματα Απογραφής Πληθυσμού - Κατοικιών 2021, Μόνιμος Πληθυσμός κατά οικισμό" [Results of the 2021 Population - Housing Census, Permanent population by settlement] (in Greek). Hellenic Statistical Authority. 29 March 2024.
  2. ^ "KTEL bus schedules". Archived from the original on 2007-12-16. Retrieved 2012-03-15.
  3. ^ "Drapanias Chania | Greece.com". www.greece.com. Retrieved 2023-03-09.
  4. ^ "Population & housing census 2001 (incl. area and average elevation)" (PDF) (in Greek). National Statistical Service of Greece. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2015-09-21.
  5. ^ "Απογραφή Πληθυσμού - Κατοικιών 2011. ΜΟΝΙΜΟΣ Πληθυσμός" (in Greek). Hellenic Statistical Authority.
  6. ^ England), Food and Drink in Archaeology (Conference) (1st : 2007 : Nottingham (2008). Food and Dink in Archaeology 1 : University of Nottingham postgraduate conference 2007. Prospect Books. pp. 162–164. ISBN 978-1-903018-60-6. OCLC 843309266.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  7. ^ "Παραλία του Δραπανιά - Χανιά". Terrabook (in Greek). Retrieved 2023-03-09.
  8. ^ a b Atlas of the Christian monuments of the Aegean : from the early Christian years to the fall of Constantinople, Nikolaos Gkioles, Giōrgos Pallēs, Athens, 2014, ISBN 978-618-80577-5-3, OCLC 1059464233, retrieved 2023-03-10{{citation}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) CS1 maint: others (link)
  9. ^ "Mithymna (Crete) 1 Nopigeia - Μήθυμνα". topostext.org. Retrieved 2023-03-09.
  10. ^ G., Sēmantōnē-Bournia, Eva. Mendōnē, Lina (1999). Archaeological atlas of the Aegean : from prehistoric times to late antiquity. Ministry of the Aegean. OCLC 1000873502.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  11. ^ Detorakis, Theocharis E. (1986). Ιστορία της Κρήτης [History of Crete] (in Greek). OCLC 715204595.
  12. ^ "Villa Trevisian in Drapanias - Hotels, Car Rental - Crete Greece". www.crete.tournet.gr. Retrieved 2023-03-09.
  13. ^ Papathanassiou, Manolis. "Kasteli of Kissamos". Καστρολόγος. Retrieved 2023-03-09.
  14. ^ "ΦΕΚ B 1292/2010, Kallikratis reform municipalities" (in Greek). Government Gazette.
  15. ^ "Aging Freighter Runs Aground and Breaks Up Off Crete". The Maritime Executive. Retrieved 2023-03-09.
  16. ^ ΛΕΩΝΙΔΑΣ (2022-04-27). "Χανιά | Ακίνητο στη θέση του το Manassa Rose - Θα γίνει σαν το ναυάγιο της Γραμβούσας; | Video". zarpanews.gr (in Greek). Retrieved 2023-03-09.