Tombs of Venizelos
East of the town of Chania on the road that leads to the Cape and the Airport are the Tombs of Venizelos.
Standing at the top of the hill of Prophet Elias, at a site with a magnificent view of the city of Chania, the Tombs of Venizelos are the burial place of Eleftherios Venizelos and his son, Sophocles Venizelos.
The spot for the Tombs of Venizelos was suggested by Eleftherios Venizelos himself, as it is located a few miles from his home in Chalepa. His body was brought to the Tombs after his death in Paris in 1936 and in 1965 followed the building of the tomb of his son and Prime Minister of Greece, Sophocles Venizelos.
If you visit the Tombs of Venizelos, read the eulogy Eleftherios Venizelos gave himself in his speech to Parliament in 1932 and has been written in metallic letters next to his grave.
Next to the Tombs of Venizelos, there is also a stone statue of Liberty that symbolizes the struggles of the Cretans for the idea of freedom, while at the same spot has been placed the statue of Spyros Kayaliedakis or Kagiale, who became a legend, when on 9th of February 1897 he turned his body into a flagpole in order to raise the Greek flag when Akrotiri was being shelled by the Italians, forcing them to stop bombing in recognition of his heroic act.
To reach the Tombs of Venizelos, it is sufficient to take the path that leads from the center of Chania to the Airport (Akrotiri street), at the entrance of the Akrotiri peninsula.
