At the mouth of Chania’s old Venetian harbour, the impressive stone beacon still helps guide vessels safely to and from this medieval coastal town in north-west Crete.
The lighthouse, that is 21m tall and has a 7-mile-range, has a long history through the centuries, but it was the Egyptians, in the 19th century, that gave it its present form. It was originally built at the edge of the pier, on the rock, by the Venetians, in the 16th century, when they fortified the cities against the Turkish threat that was becoming increasingly more significant. Between 1595-1601, the Venetians also built the Agios Nikolaos bastion on the breakwater, so that, together with the Firka Fortress, it could protect the harbour. While the rest of the improvements they made to the harbour also included various openings for the renewal of the water. The trapezoidal base on which the lighthouse stands today was also built by the Venetians, while the small octagonal domed guardhouse and the stone parapet at the lighthouse’s base are more recent additions. The staircase at the entrance of the lighthouse, on the east side, was built around the end of the Ottoman rule.
In the period of the Ottoman rule of Chania, the harbour was neglected, and the lighthouse was in disuse. In 1839, when the Egyptians were given Crete as a gift from the Turks, for their help during many wars, they restored the lighthouse to its present form. The light came from a fire at first, and in 1864, when the lighthouse passed in the hands of the French Company of Ottoman Lighthouses, a parabolic reflector was installed. Since the lighthouse is located near a residential area there is no need for a lighthouse keeper residence in the lighthouse.
In the past, both during the Venetian and the Ottoman rule, Chania thrived as a commercial harbour, with important exports and imports, and the natural harbour of Souda was very helpful for ships. After the Genoese took over the town, the need for another harbour became apparent again and so the local authorities took action. The actual request was approved in 1302, during the Venetian rule, and the planning and design of the harbour started.
The lighthouse of Chania was added to the Lighthouse Network of Greece after Crete became part of Greece in 1913. The lighthouse was in operation as a red-light lighthouse until 1933. In 1941, it was destroyed by the Germans, and was repaired in 1945, while in 1962 the cargo ship “Afovos” hit the northwest corner of the lighthouse causing part of the north wall to fall.
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