page_title: Fortifications of Heraklion
section_title: Venetian walls
hierarchical_section_title: Fortifications of Heraklion / History / Venetian walls
caption_attribution_description: English: The lion of Saint Mark, on Martinego bastion.
context_page_description: The fortifications of Heraklion are a series of defensive walls and other fortifications which surround the city of Heraklion in Crete, Greece. The first city walls were built in the Middle Ages, but they were completely rebuilt by the Republic of Venice. The fortifications managed to withstand the second longest siege in history for 21 years, before the city fell to the Ottomans in 1669.
  Heraklion's fortifications have made it one of the best fortified cities in the Mediterranean. The walls remain largely intact to this day, and they are considered to be among the best preserved Venetian fortifications in Europe.
context_section_description: In the early 13th century, Candia (modern Heraklion) and the rest of Crete fell under the control of the Republic of Venice. Initially the Byzantine walls remained in use, and they underwent various modifications. Following the fall of Constantinople in 1453, the expanding Ottoman Empire became a major threat for the Venetians. Due to this threat and the discovery of gunpowder, they decided to build new fortifications around Candia. Construction began in 1462, and the walls took over a century to be built. Their construction was based on designs by prominent military architects Michele Sanmicheli and Giulio Savorgnan (it).
  Over the years, the fortifications were strengthened with the construction of various outworks, while the Rocca al Mare (now known as the Koules Fortress) was built to protect the harbour entrance.
caption: Lion of Saint Mark on Martinengo Bastion
exif: {"Image ImageDescription": "OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA", "Image Make": "OLYMPUS IMAGING CORP.", "Image Model": "VR340,D750", "Image Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Image XResolution": "314", "Image YResolution": "314", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image Software": "Version 1.0", "Image DateTime": "2014:07:15 15:12:43", "Image YCbCrPositioning": "Co-sited", "Image ExifOffset": "852", "Image PrintIM": "[80, 114, 105, 110, 116, 73, 77, 0, 48, 51, 48, 48, 0, 0, 37, 0, 1, 0, 20, 0, ... ]", "Thumbnail Compression": "JPEG (old-style)", "Thumbnail XResolution": "72", "Thumbnail YResolution": "72", "Thumbnail ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormat": "6092", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormatLength": "13348", "EXIF ExposureTime": "1/800", "EXIF FNumber": "29/5", "EXIF ExposureProgram": "Program Normal", "EXIF ISOSpeedRatings": "100", "EXIF SensitivityType": "Standard Output Sensitivity", "EXIF ExifVersion": "0230", "EXIF DateTimeOriginal": "2014:07:15 15:12:43", "EXIF DateTimeDigitized": "2014:07:15 15:12:43", "EXIF ComponentsConfiguration": "YCbCr", "EXIF ExposureBiasValue": "0", "EXIF MaxApertureValue": "317/100", "EXIF MeteringMode": "CenterWeightedAverage", "EXIF LightSource": "Fine weather", "EXIF Flash": "Flash did not fire, compulsory flash mode", "EXIF FocalLength": "1767/50", "EXIF FlashPixVersion": "0100", "EXIF ColorSpace": "sRGB", "EXIF ExifImageWidth": "4608", "EXIF ExifImageLength": "3456", "Interoperability InteroperabilityIndex": "R98", "Interoperability InteroperabilityVersion": "[48, 49, 48, 48]", "EXIF InteroperabilityOffset": "5968", "EXIF FileSource": "Digital Camera", "EXIF CustomRendered": "Normal", "EXIF ExposureMode": "Auto Exposure", "EXIF WhiteBalance": "Manual", "EXIF DigitalZoomRatio": "0", "EXIF FocalLengthIn35mmFilm": "200", "EXIF SceneCaptureType": "Standard", "EXIF GainControl": "None", "EXIF Contrast": "Normal", "EXIF Saturation": "Normal", "EXIF Sharpness": "Normal"}