Location
Monastery of Saint George
Karydi, Chania
Monastery of Saint George – Karydi, Chania
The Monastery of Saint George at Karydi in the Apokoronas region is an intriguing example of rural Cretan monastic architecture, whose development was closely tied to both the local economy and the island’s political transformations. Surrounded by fertile olive groves, the monastery and its associated agricultural structures blend naturally into the valley landscape, serving as a focal point of religious, social, and economic life. Although abandoned for a period, the monastery was restored and reactivated in the 1990s, a testament to its enduring cultural and spiritual significance.
Description
The monastery lies about two kilometers east of the village of Vamos, on a site once occupied by the settlement of Karydi Agiou Georgiou. Historical sources record the presence of a church dedicated to Saint George here as early as 1577. In the nineteenth century, the monastery functioned as an estate dependent on the Monastery of Agia Triada Tzagaroli, and its land holdings expanded significantly through donations from local inhabitants. One of the most distinctive elements of the complex is the former olive-oil factory, known as the *fabrica*, featuring twelve arches and four olive mills, a testament to the high level of olive-oil production once carried out here.
In 1900 the last monk left the monastery, and part of its land was redistributed to local farmers in 1905, after which the complex gradually fell into neglect. Only in 1989 did the Greek Ministry of Culture begin restoration works, which led to the monastery’s reoccupation in 1996 by the monk Dorotheos. Today the site is accessible via a paved road and serves as an example of the many facets of monastic, economic, and spiritual life on Crete under Venetian and Ottoman rule.
Location
Karydi, Chania
Coordinates: 35.39196, 24.20329