Achlada is a village in the Cretan

Crete

Crete is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, and one of the thirteen administrative regions of Greece. It forms a significant part of the economy and cultural heritage of Greece while retaining its own local cultural traits...

 municipality of Malevizi

Malevizi

Malevizi is a municipality in Heraklion peripheral unit, Crete, Greece. The seat of the municipality is the village Gazi.-Municipality:The municipality Malevizi was formed at the 2011 local government reform by the merger of the following 3 former municipalities, that became municipal...

, and belongs to the municipal unit of Gazi

Gazi, Crete

Gazi , Crete, is a town and a former municipality in the Heraklion peripheral unit of Crete in Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Malevizi, of which it is a municipal unit. It lies 6 km west of Heraklion, on the north coast of Crete...

, in Heraklion Prefecture

Heraklion Prefecture

Heraklion is one of the four regional units of Crete. The capital is the city of Heraklion.-Geography:The regional unit of Heraklion borders on the regional units of Rethymno to the west and Lasithi to the east. Farmlands are situated in the central and the northern parts, at the coast and in...

.

The inhabitants are shepherds and farmers who cultivate mostly fruits and vegetables in the surrounding hills and landscape, which are few kilometres from the sea shore. In the village is the church of Saint John the Prodrome and Saint Triphon with a wooden carved iconostasis. There is also the old elementary school that serves nowadays as a feast hall, and a newly built hotel on ecotourism that enhances rural cultural tourism.
In recent years, local people, politicians and other interested parties have been discussing the restoration of parts of the village.

Community of Achlada

The community of Achlada consists of the following seven settlements whose total population is 1,080 inhabitants, based on the 2001 census.

• Achlada – the district’s seat.
• Agia Pelagia
  Agia Pelagia
  Agia Pelagia is a seaside fishing village built in the centre of a picturesque amphitheatric bay, 23 km northwest from Heraklion capital city of the island of Crete....
  
  
• Ammoudi
• Lygaria
• Mades
• Monofatsis
• Xirokampos

History

The origin of the name is from the tree (αχλάδα ή αχράς – wild pear

Pear

The pear is any of several tree species of genus Pyrus and also the name of the pomaceous fruit of these trees. Several species of pear are valued by humans for their edible fruit, but the fruit of other species is small, hard, and astringent....

 tree). In the Venetian

Venice

Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...

 archives the village is mentioned as Aclada with 63 inhabitants, at which time it belonged to Mylopotamos Province in Rethymno Prefecture

Rethymno Prefecture

Rethymno is one of the four regional units of Crete, Greece. Its capital is the city of Rethymno. Today its main income is tourism. The countryside is also based economically on agriculture and herding.-Administration:...

. Achlada used to belong, as a feudal estate, to the brothers Giorgios and Franciscos Mondinos having 35 houses and 2 churches (Gerola Monumenti veneti, III.).

Sources

• Heraklion and its Prefecture, Heraklion Prefecture’s Edition (Το Ηράκλειο και ο Νομός του. Έκδοση Νομαρχίας Ηρακλείου).
• ΜΝΗΜΕΙΑ & ΙΣΤΟΡΙΚΕΣ ΑΝΑΦΟΡΕΣ ΣΤΟ ΔΗΜΟ ΓΑΖΙΟΥ (ΠΟΛΙΤΙΣΤΙΚΟΣ ΣΥΛΛΟΓΟΣ ΦΟΔΕΛΕ 2001).
• Το Μαλέβιζι, από τα προΐστορικά χρόνια μέχρι σήμερα. ΟΡΓΑΝΙΣΜΟΣ ΑΝΑΠΤΥΞΗΣ ΜΑΛΕΒΙΖΙΟΥ (ΟΡ.Α.ΜΑ) 1998.

External Links

• http://www.gazi.gov.gr