Chania is the second largest settlement on the island after Heraklion.

This area appears to have been inhabited since the Neolithic Age. It was built as a city in the Minoan period (3000–1900 BC) under the name Kudonija. According to ancient tradition, the city was founded by the mythical King Minos. Cydonia reemerged after the end of the Minoan period as an important city-state. The first major wave of settlers from mainland Greece was by the Dorians who came around 1100 BC. In Homer's Odyssey the inhabitants of Kydonia are mentioned twice.

After centuries of war between the Cretan cities, the island became a Roman province in 67 BC. Due to its pro-Roman stance, the city was granted the status of a free city. The Roman conquest of Crete marked the end of the civil wars and the beginning of a long period of peace and economic prosperity.

After the end of the Roman Empire and the division of the empire in 395, Chania was ruled by the Byzantine Empire (395–824) and then by the Emirate of Crete (824–961). During the second Byzantine period (961–1204), the city was known in Greek as Chania. To ward off further Arab invasion, the Byzantines heavily fortified the city, using materials from ancient buildings in the surrounding area.After the fall of Constantinople during the 1204 Fourth Crusade, Crete was sold to the Venetians In 1252, the Venetians managed to subdue the Cretans and Chania flourished as a commercial centre of a fertile agricultural region. Contact with Venice led to close intertwining of Cretan and Venetian cultures.

The city walls were reinforced at this time, but could notnot prevent an Ottoman army from capturing it from the Venetians after a two-month siege. Many Cretans fled to escape persecution while numerous Turkish Muslim settlers arrived changing the ethnic mix of the city.

The city remained under Ottoman control despite fighting during the Greek War of Independence and the Cretan Revolts in the 19th century until Crete moved towards independence that eventually led to Crete's union with Greece on 1 December 1913.



The Archaeological Museum of Chania is located in the suburb of Chalepa housed in a large modern building.

Votive bull figurines