Hersonissos

Hersonissos (Greek: Χερσόνησος(meaning peninsula), Chersónisos, pronounced [xerˈsonisos]), also transliterated as Chersonisos and Hersónisos, is a town and a municipality in the north of Crete, bordering the Mediterranean / Aegean Sea. This community is about 25 kilometers east of Heraklion and west of Agios Nikolaos. What is usually called Hersonissos is in fact its peninsula and harbour. It is part of the Heraklion regional unit. It is situated 25 km from the Heraklion airport and 27 km from the Heraklion port. The seat of the municipality is the village Gournes.

Geography

The seaside resort of Hersonissos is officially the Port of Hersonissos (Greek: Λιμένας Χερσόνησου, Liménas Chersónisou) in distinction to the village of Upper Hersonissos (Greek: Ανω Χερσόνησος, Ano Chersónisos) further inland. Through tourism, the port town developed from the small harbour which served the original village, now known as Old Hersonissos.

History

The ancient town of Chersonesus was important enough in the Roman province of Creta et Cyrenaica early to became a Christian bishopric, a suffragan of the metropolitan see of Gortyna.