Agia Irini Monastery near Kroussonas
Agia Irini monastery is located 25km south of Heraklion and 3km west of Kroussonas village, on the slopes of Psiloritis at an altitude of 630m. It can be accessed via the road connecting Kroussonas with Livadi plateau.
The monastery serves as a nunnery and is among the oldest ones in Crete. It is believed that it was built at the end of the Venetian Era, but was destroyed by the Turks in 1822 and rebuilt in 1944.
The two-aisled church of the monastery is dedicated to St. Irene (celebr. May 5) and the Assumption (celebr. August 15). The monastery belongs to the flourishing monasteries of modern Crete and is very well preserved by the nuns.
Timeline
- 14th-15th century: Santa Irene Monastery is founded near Kroussonas.
- 1671: A document mentions the monastery of Agia Irini.
- 1822: During a battle in Kroussonas Gorge, 400 Turks were killed by the Cretan rebels , who used the monastery as their base. In retaliation, the Turks slaughtered all the monks of Saint Irene and flattened the monastery.
- 1936: Demetrios Fasoulakis, with 4 nuns, starts the restoration of the monastery.
- 1944: The restored monastery reoperates as a nunnery.
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