Mourtzana
Shortly after the village of Garazo in the prefecture of Rethymno, the Mourtzana village is situated, approximately 38 km far from the city of Rethymno.
The Mourtzana village is one of the oldest and quaintest settlements of the prefecture, its population continuously growing because of immigrants from abroad, mostly from England.
The village was established by the Mourtzanos family and the name Mourtzana originates in a Saracens’ nickname meaning deep-red colour.
The Mourtzana was built in 961 AD and is numbered among the villages with rich architecture. The visitor observes elements reflecting the Byzantine, the Venetian and the Turkish occupation periods. An almost fortress-like external appearance of some houses is quite impressive, as well as the existence of many internal rooms and entrances.
Upon the hill of the village of Mourtzana, there is a modern church of Agios Alexandros and, further east, the Cathedral of the settlement, the Agia Sophia, is situated. Leaving the village,the abandoned village of Mousai is found along with the church of Agia Paraskevi, built in 1837. Finally, the traveler’s eye will detect the aqueduct, built in the early 20th century and its purpose was to facilitate the water supply to local residents.
The Mourtzana village is well known because of the dynamic cultural activities of the local Association as well as the local olive production units.
