Koufi
Koufi is a small village of the prefecture of Rethymno, located in close proximity to the city of Rethymno, approximately 20 km away.
There are two versions of where its name came from. The first refers to the fact that the village has been built on a slab, which is hollow underneath, so the settlement was called Koufi (=hollow). Other believes that it was named after a deaf old woman, who lived in the village in the old days and supplied the locals with herbs and sorts of remedies.
In the Minoan times the area of Koufi belonged to a wider area of Ancient Lappa, while the first evidence for the existence of the settlement were recorded in the 14th century by Fr. Barozzi, called Kastrofylakas. Then, the villagers came under the Turkish yoke and fought the Germans in 1940.
In 1964 Koufi was one of the first villages of Crete to obtain a sewer and electricity. Today, there are several stone houses with arches restored in the village and dating to the times of the Venetian Rule and the Turkish Occupation. Also in the village there is a café and a small grocery store, while at the entrance to the village a fodder unit operates.
The churches of the village Koufi have all been built after 1800. The chapel of the Holy Apostles is considered the oldest and dates back to 1863, while the main church is dedicated to Agia Marina, since according to the locals, when Germans were bombing the village, Agia Marina did her miracle and protected the inhabitants.
