Chania Askifou War Museum

Location: Askyfou
Don't miss: Museums guide (free admission dates and other useful info)

In the mountainous village of Askifou, 50 km south of Chania, lies the interesting Askifou War Museum, which was created through the initiative of a local man. Born in 1931, Georgios Hatzidakis was marked by the Second World War, which he experienced as a child. Wishing to honor the Cretans’ resistance against the occupying forces, he started to collect weaponry at the age of 14. He would collect anything he found in the village, mostly weapons from the Second World War, but, while growing up, he also developed an interest in gathering other weapons that dated back to the Cretan Revolt of 1770 or earlier.

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Later on, he created this war museum to house his large collection, which consists of over 2,000 pieces and is constantly being enriched thanks to Georgios Hatzidakis’ son. Visitors can see many interesting exhibits, including guns, revolvers, carbines, mortars, mortar shells, binoculars, military uniforms, and even the propeller of a German helicopter that fell in Crete during the Battle of Crete in May 1941. The oldest exhibit of the museum is a 1770 cannon, while the largest one is a German bomb.

Official website: www.warmuseumaskifou.com