Chania

Chania city is the capital of Chania municipality on the north-west of Crete and covers an area of about 11 square kilometers. Chania is the second largest city of Crete, after Heraklion, with a population of about 60.000 residents. Chania has a great history and cultural heritage, partly because it faced many conquerors through time, thus being open to the influences of different civilizations. Chania has many monuments of Byzantine period, Venetian period, Ottoman period and modern History as well as worth-seeing museums, like the Nautical Museum of Crete, the Archaeological Museum of Chania, the house of El. Venizelos, the War Museum of Chania.

The climate of the area is temperate Mediterranean and the temperatures vary at normal levels all year round.

The area economy, apart from tourism, is based on agriculture and more specifically on the cultivation of olive trees and citrus-fruit. Wine production, as well as the production of avocado, vegetables and dairy products is also wide spread, while the past few years the state is encouraging biological cultivation in the area.

The traditional folklore heritage is evident on the art of handicrafts (embroidering, knitting, weaving and looming). In Chania you can find unique handmade items of glass, wood and metal, as well as craft shops with ceramics, wood-carved and metal-carved objects. The art of knife making has also flourished in Crete and you can find knife-shops, called 'macheradika' in Greek, on Karaoli Dimitriou and Sifaka streets.

In 1977 the Technical University of Crete was established in Chania, and now comprises of the following academic departments: Department of Production Engineering and Management, Department of Mineral Resources Engineering, Electronic and Computer Engineering Department, Environmental Engineering Department, Architectural Engineering Department and Sciences Department. Furthermore, in Chania there is a branch of the Technological Educational Institute of Crete as well as the Mediterranean Agronomic Institute of Chania.