Agios Nikolaos is the capital of the Prefecture of Lassithi and
seat of the municipality of Agios Nikolaos. It is located on the
northern coastline of Crete, on the west side of the Gulf of
Mirabello. The permanent residents according to the 2011 census were
11,421 for the city, 12,638 for the municipal unit and 27,074 for
the enlarged municipality of Agios Nikolaos.
The area of
Agios Nikolaos was inhabited in antiquity, when it was called
Kamara. During the Venetian period it had a castle, also known as
Mirabello Castle, but the settlement was deserted during the Ottoman
era, to begin to be inhabited again in the 19th century. The name of
the city came from the Byzantine church located in the bay of Agios
Nikolaos. It used to be called Mandraki, as there were many yards
with goats that overwintered. Another well-known name, still used by
the inhabitants of the surrounding villages, is Gialos.
Agios
Nikolaos is the seat of the Municipality of Agios Nikolaos. Since
2000, due to the Kapodistrias plan, the communities of Kritsa,
Elounda, Limnon, Kalo Chorio, Vrouha, Skinia, Louma, Zenion, Exo
Potamon, Krousta, Exo Laconia, Mesa Laconia and Prina were merged in
the Municipality of Agios Nikolaos. From 2011 and after the law of
Kallikratis, the Municipality of Neapolis and the Community of
Vrachasi were merged in the Municipality of Agios Nikolaos.
The climate of the region according to the Köppen – Geiger climate
classification system is characterized as Csa, ie temperate (C),
with dry (s) and hot (a) summers. From the climatic data of the
region it seems that the most frequent wind is the northwest, the
average daily temperature ranges from 15 to 34 degrees Celsius and
the average night temperature from 7 to 20 degrees Celsius.
The economy of the area is based on tourism, olive growing and
non-stable livestock. A feature of the city is Lake Voulismeni and
its many beaches, which are often certified for their cleanliness
and facilities.
Ancient times
The current city is built on the site
of ancient Latos to Kamara, port of Latos Etera (important mountain
town of the Dorians, 3.5 km north of Kritsa). The two cities were an
administrative unit in the 3rd century BC, worshiped the same deity,
Eilithia, patroness of childbirth and had single coins that on one
side depicted Eilithia or Artemis and on the other Hermes with the
word LATION . The citizens of Latos to Kamara called themselves
Kamarites.
Lato to Kamara, as a port, developed during this
period in terms of population and economy, while on the contrary
Lato began to decline. Statues, inscriptions and many tombs have
been found in the river area since this period. The tombstones,
several of which are interesting, are on display at the
Archaeological Museum.
In the first Byzantine period, the
Diocese of Kamara still existed as a remarkable city, as mentioned
in the Synekdimos by Hierocles.
Venetian times
At the
beginning of the 13th century, probably in 1206, a fortress was
built on the hill where the prefecture is today, probably by the
Genoese Enrico Pescatore. The fortress was named Mirabello and gave
its name to the province of Mirabello and the bay. The fortress was
destroyed by a strong earthquake in 1303, but the Venetians rebuilt
it. In 1374 it is referred to as Castro Mirabelli and had a salt
depot from the Elounda salt flats, which was then exported to
Europe. The fortress was abandoned and became a warehouse when the
revolts against the Venetians stopped.
Mirabello Fortress was
destroyed in 1537 by Turkish pirates, but was rebuilt to the design
of Michele Samicelli. A settlement (vourgos) developed around the
fortress. In the census of Kastrofylakas (K97) the settlement is
mentioned as Mirabello proprio with 753 inhabitants, mainly
fishermen. In 1630 it is mentioned by Francesco Basilicata as
Mirabello Castello and that in Greek the settlement was called
Voulismeni, by the lake.
In 1646, during the Great Cretan
War, the guard Colonel Baldella immediately handed over the fortress
to the Turks who surrounded it. This act was considered treason and
Baldella was hanged. The Venetians recaptured the fortress, but
because they could not keep it in their possession, they destroyed
it, since the fortress of Spinalonga met their needs.
In 1671
it is mentioned in the Turkish census as Nefs Meranblo with 42
excavations, which means that it was inhabited. It is not mentioned
in the Egyptian census of 1834 and the area was uninhabited. But the
port was used to export provincial products such as locusts. In 1845
Victor Raulin reports that there were four ruined churches used as
locust bean storages.
Modern settlement
The modern
settlement was created with the revolution of 1866, by residents of
Fourni, Kritsa, Heraklion and Sfakia. The ruins of the Venetian
fortress were used as building materials for the new buildings. It
is first mentioned in the 1881 census, when it had 87 Christians and
8 Turks. It was originally called Mandraki but took its name from
Agios Nikolaos after the small 9th century Byzantine church
located on the Ammoudi peninsula, about 2 km north of the city. In
1900 Agios Nikolaos became the seat of the Municipality of Kritsa.
In 1904 the seat of the Municipality of Lassithi was moved from
Naples to Agios Nikolaos.
In 1928 Agios Nikolaos had 1,124
inhabitants and since then there has been a continuous increase in
population: 2,481 (1940), 3,167 (1951), 3,709 (1961), 5,002 (1971),
8,130 (1981). tourist destination.
The Lake Voulismeni
Lake Voulismeni ('Lake' for the people of Agionikoli) is a small lagoon in the city center. The lake is connected to the port of the city by a canal that opened in 1870. Many ancient legends mention the Lake, the oldest of which want the goddesses Athena and Artemis to bathe in it. Two urban myths are associated with the Lake, that there is no bottom, and that the Lake is connected to the volcano of Santorini. The latest myth is that during the last eruption of the volcano, the waters of the Lake swelled and flooded the surrounding warehouses. At the bottom of the lake there is ammunition left behind by German soldiers before they left at the end of World War II.
A park with pines and tamarisk trees above the
Lake offers panoramic views of the city. From this park a stone path
starts, meanders between the trees and ends on the South side of the
Lake, where small fishing boats moor.
Spinalonga, a fortified
island which was used as a leprosarium. Now some of its buildings
and houses are preserved as archeological sites and there are
tourist offices that transport tourists by boat to the island from
Elounda, Plaka and Agios Nikolaos and there they are guided to the
specific parts of the island that are allowed access.
The Marina
of the Municipality of Agios Nikolaos where sailing competitions are
organized.
The horn of Amalthea, a sculpture made by the locals,
recognized artists brothers Sotiriadis, has been erected on a
stone-built patio on the sidewalk, so as to have the bay of
Mirabello and the island of Agios Pantos as a background.
The
Rapture of Europe, a statue - 4 meters high, designed by
award-winning director Nikos Koundouros and created by sculptors
Nikos and Pantelis Sotiriadis. It is located at the new pier of the
port of Agios Nikolaos. It is made of bronze, steel and glass,
completely forged by hand, while its weight is close to 6 tons.
Nearchou Square, as the older KTEL Square is called, is designed
with mosaic marine motifs, by the architect Maro Dagianti.
The
stairs of the city are quite interesting. As the city is built on
hills the stairs are a feature of it, with several local architects
having designed one.
Kitroplatia, a square with a small beach,
from which begins a stone-built pedestrian street that follows the
coastline and ends at the Marina. Its name comes from the citrus
trade as from this beach and because of its depth, commercial boats
could be loaded before the city even acquired a port.
The hill of
Agios Charalambos, next to the homonymous church, a thicket of pine
trees with an old water tank on the roof of which two pines grow.
From the hill you have a panoramic view of the city and the bay.
Also the hill of the museum with the church of Agios Andreas and the
adjacent thicket.
The islets of Agios Pantos and Faros are an
example in Natural History as while they are a few meters apart from
each other the species of fauna and flora that they host have
evolved differently. Kri Kri, in order to keep the species clean.