Rethymno (the Minoan Rithymna) with its cosmopolitan atmosphere is a sweet beautiful city on the northern coast of Crete, between Chania and Heraklion.
The interventions made by the conquerors of the area from century to century have added a special identity to the city. Rethymno was asserted by the Venetians, the Franks and also by famous pirates like Barbarossa. The Venetian Empire from 1204 to 1669 offered not only the period of the Cretan Renaissance to Rethymno, but also one of its most beautiful places of interest, the castle of Fortezza. When it was surrendered to the Turks, the countdown of its decay began. As expected, Christianity, art and the intellectual culture took a blow, something which was supplemented by massive slaughters and disasters. During this period, the architecture of Rethymno was embellished with several Muslim features, which are nowadays distinctive places of interest of the city. One of the most impressive places is Neratze Mosque with its 3 domes built in the place of the Venetian temple, Santa Maria. The struggle for the liberation from the Turkish yoke started in 1821 but without any results. In 1866, the Cretan revolution was run anew, which lasted until 1869 and was marked by the tragic holocaust of the monastery of Arkadi. This incident, although it had many victims, was a symbol for Christianity and a token of heroism of the Cretans. A few years later came the redemption through the great Cretan revolution in 1897, which gave Rethymno its autonomy. Until World War II, a brief period of recovery and prosperity intermediates, as well as the Union of Crete with Greece in 1912.
After a turbulent period, we come to Rethymno of today, which retains some signs from the influences of its conquerors, but blends them with the exuberant Cretan culture. A walk in the old town is enough to figure out the jumble of the cultural features, in which one can discern more intensely the signs of modernization. Besides, a large part of Rethymno's nightlife is hidden in this side of the city. In the intense pace of nightlife also contributes the presence of the campus in Rethymno, which hosts over 6,000 undergraduate students. In a city of 28,000 inhabitants such a large proportion of students definitely give another pace to everyday life. Having fun in Rethymno is also supplemented by its famed Carnival, which is a very good reason for visiting it during the winter.