Saint Demetrius (Patron of the Carpenters)
Saint Demetrius (Patron of the Carpenters)
Most of the visitors walk on the 25th of August and do not go past the parallel streets that also hide nice landmarks.
Right next at Marineli Street (parallel to 25th of August and near the port), you can visit the picturesque church of Saint Dimitrios.
It seems a very beautiful church and a new one, and the reason is that it was fully restored in 1964. However its history goes way back into the centuries.
This church is mentioned in ancient catalogues as S. Demetrio and as San Dimitrio, Ciesa Greca.
The temple was the patron saint of the Carpenters (firstly referred to in May 1554). The carpenters and builders were very important people for the Venetians, due to the fact that they were constructing the city walls.
When Heraklion was taken over by the Ottomans, the holy icon and belongings of the church were transferred at Corfu and Zakynthos. T
he Ottomans did not do any construction work due to its small size.
At the same position, at the beginning of the 1900s, a small hill was located and was visited often by locals who took water from a small fountain at the area. The locals discovered a fresco, part of the ancient temple, which is now placed inside the current temple.
Its reconstruction was completed in 1964, and the temple is a preserved building since 18/3/1947.
The two side aisles are devoted to Saint Eleftherios and to Saints Anargyroi.
Sources and further reading:
Λιάνα Σταρίδα, Υπήρχε Μία Πόλη … Τα θρησκευτικά μνημεία του Μεγάλου Κάστρου Εκδόσεις Ίτανος, Ηράκλειο 2016, Έκδοση 1η, σελ. 53 – 54
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Other names of the Church
Aghios Dimitrios
Άγιος Δημήτριος
Congratulation!