Arsaniou monastery

Arsani Monastery, located 12 km east of Rethymno, was founded during the second Byzantine period by the monk Arsenios. After years of abandonment due to pirate raids, it was restored before 1600. Its main church, dedicated to Saint George, was built at the end of the 16th century.

The monastery suffered major damage in the 1856 earthquake and played an active role in the Cretan uprisings. Abbot Gabriel Klados was killed during the 1897–1898 revolution, and in 1941 the Germans executed monk Damianos Kallergis for helping resistance fighters.

It was restored in the 1970s, and today it features new wall paintings, a museum, and a conference center.