Heraklion’s Venetian Fortress Reopens to the Sound of Music

With an August full moon from above to the tune of music from within, the famed Koules Fortress in the town of Heraklion, Crete, reopens its doors tonight after six years of restoration works.

Located at the entrance of Heraklion’s old port and completed in 1540, the “Castello a Mare” has since 2010 undergone extensive upgrading works both to its structural elements as well as to its public services infrastructure. Showrooms and information sites have been added as well as facilities to host cultural events.

Visitors will have the chance for the first time to see a series of finds collected from underwater surveys of shipwrecks around Dia islet carried out by world famous explorer Jacques Cousteau in 1976.

The overhaul – budgeted at 2,050,000 euros – was funded by the EU’s NSRF  (National Strategic Reference Framework) 2007-2013.

The official opening of the site will take place on September 16. In the meantime, the Koules Fortress will be open to the public from 8am to 3pm daily free of charge. An admission fee will be in effect after September 16.