The Venetian Arsenals, Heraklion - Crete | 05 Sep 2014
The Koules Fortress (Rocca al Mare), the Ramparts and the Arsenals are the dominant and most impressive structures of the port of Heraklion. The 'Arsenals' are vaulted elongated structures located on the south of the Venetian harbor. In their original form they were 50 meters long, 9 meters wide and 10 meters high and linked to each other through arched openings. The Venetians used them to manufacture, repair or kept their vessels. In the 17th century when the port of Heraklion took its final form, it was able to dock 50 galleys. The Venetians constructed a total number of 19 shipyards in different periods, divided into three groups: the Antichi Arsenal, the Vechi Arsenal and the Nuovi Arsenal. Next to Nuovi Arsenal there was a salt storage and a large water tank with a capacity of 20,000 barrels, which is used today for watering the green areas of the port of Heraklion (70000 lt / day). Today only a few sections of the arsenals are preserved including part of the Vechi Arsenal southwest of the harbor and parts of the Nuovi Arsenal southeast of the port.