The Temple is situated on the west side of the fortress of Chania, next to the homonymous bastion. It has rich archaeological material, which was found in excavations that took place throughout the prefecture of Chania, as well as by citizens’ donations.
It was built in the 15th century, while in the 16th and 17th centuries there were some additions. During the Ottoman domination, it served as a mosque. Today it functions as a museum, with the Byzantine and Post Byzantine Collection of Chania, where one can admire remarkable mosaics, inscriptions, frescoes, portable icons, coins, sculptures, as well as various works of miniature and pottery.
The visitor has the opportunity to admire this collection and to know the historical and artistic evolution of the westernmost prefecture of Crete from the early Christian, Byzantine to the years of Ottoman domination.
The exhibits are presented in chronological order.
Open hours:
Every day from 08:00 to 15:00
San Salvatore Bastion:
The bastion is to the west of the Firka fortress and was named after the temple and the monastery of San Salvatore of the Franciscan Monks that are preserved in the area. Today, half of a circular tower is preserved from the original fortification of the harbor, which was constructed in the 13th century by the Genoese. The bastion of San Salvatore is a later addition, which built in the 16th century when the Venetians built the fortifications. Above Bastion there is the homonymous quadrilateral rampart that covered the area of the sea with the Firka Fortress.
