Asteri

Asteri is a beautiful village in the prefecture of Rethymno, near the seaside settlements Stavromenos and Sfakaki and approximately 13 km east of Rethymno.

The village was probably named as Asteri (=star) after a faucet that was formerly located in the center of the village with a marble lion head shining like a star. The fountain was probably looted.

During the revolution of 1866, the Asteri village, like the neighboring Chamalevri, was looted by the Turks, who completely destroyed the homes of Christians. Similar disasters occurred in 1889, so only few buildings have remained from the Venetian era.

During German occupation, the Germans captured the few men they’d found and executed 14 people in total in one of the first massive killings in Crete in retaliation for the participation of citizens in the war and burned the village. The villagers have erected a memorial in honor of the fallen.

The Polios House, a folklore museum, one of the most important attractions of the settlement after its restoration, had suffered considerable damage then.

Situated at an altitude of 70 meters on the slope of Arsaniotikos torrent, which runs through the village from the west, the Asteri is an ideal destination, since it is close to the beautiful beaches of northern part of the prefecture of Rethymno and near the archaeological site of Stavromenos with its newly built luxury villas. Several of the ruined houses have been restored and there are some new buildings, since many residents, who had left the village, decided to return.