Herakleion Archaeological Museum

The Herakleion Archaeological Museum is one of the largest and most important museums in Greeceand among the most important museums in Europe. It houses representative artefacts from all the periods of Cretan prehistory and history, covering a chronological span of over 5,500 years from the Neolithic period to Roman times. The singularly important Minoan collection contains unique examples of Minoan art, many of them true masterpieces. The Herakleion Museum is rightly considered as the museum of Minoan culture par excellence worldwide.

The museum, located in the town centre, was built between 1937 and 1940 by architect Patroklos Karantinos on a site previously occupied by the Roman Catholic monastery of Saint-Francis which was destroyed by earthquake in 1856. The museum’s antiseismic building is an important example of modernist architecture and was awarded a Bauhaus commendation. The colours and construction materials, such as the veined polychrome marbles, recall certain Minoan wall-paintings which imitate marble revetment. The two-storeyed building has 27 galleries, a gallery for audio-visual displays, extensive modern laboratories, a cloakroom, a cafeteria and a museum shop that sells museum copies, books, postcards and slides.

The Herakleion Archaeological Museum is a Special Regional Service of the Ministry of Culture and its purpose is to acquire, safeguard, conserve, record, study, publish, display and promote Cretan artefacts from the Prehistoric to the Late Roman periods. The museum organizes temporary exhibitions in Greece and abroad, collaborates with scientific and scholarly institutions, and houses a variety of cultural events.

Administrative Information:
Official Unit:
Archaeological Museum of Herakleion
Xanthoudidou 2 Str., Τ.Κ. 71202, Herakleion (Prefecture of Iraklio)
Telephone: 2810 279000, 2810 279002, 2810 279087
Fax: 2810 279001
Email: amh@culture.gr

Tickets:
Full: €12, Reduced: €6
Tickets can be bought either at the museum’s ticket booth with a credit or debit card, or online through the only official website: https://etickets.tap.gr/ Tickets can only be used on the scheduled day and time slot.

Access:
Xanthoudidou 2 Str.

Source: http://odysseus.culture.gr

Archaeological Museum of Herakleion