Public Garden

The Public Garden of Chania hosts many types of trees, shrubs, fruit-bearing and ornamental plants, as well as a small zoo with animals from Cretan fauna. On its huge premises you will also find the public children’s library, the public cinema and a municipal cafe.

The Public Garden of Chania was the work of Reouf Pasha, and he oversaw its configuration. It was designed in 1870 and was the first charitable work in the city. In “Bakses”, as it was called then, were planted mainly evergreen trees. The paths were plotted according to the European standards and then layered with thick sand.

In 1898, in the northwest corner of the Public Garden a building was constructed, that served as a theater, governmental printing office, dance hall, and, in the following years, it housed the Cretan Parliament.

In 1918, the Public Garden of Chania was reconstructed. New trees and plants were planted. The flowerbed at the front entrance was modified to resemble a butterfly sitting on a flower and the large central flowerbed into the shape of an archaic amphora. A labyrinth with only one entrance was formed in the western part of the garden, for wandering among shady paths.

On the northeast corner of the Public Garden began in 1924 the construction of the Clock of the Garden. In 1936, the building that hosts until today the “Garden Cafe” was built. It is a historical space, as it was frequented by celebrities such as Eleftherios Venizelos and Nikos Kazantzakis.