MIRTOS
The village of Myrtos is a beautiful coastal village at the western part of the county of Ierapetra. Located 14.5 km from Ierapetra and 50.5 km from Agios Nikolaos, on the road to Viannos. Its beautiful surroundings consists of lemon-and orange-trees. The German-Italian war had disastrous consequences for the village Myrtos and its people. Just after the Italian occupation, in May 1941, a team of 80 Cretans fled to the mountains and the first resistance team was created in Lapathon. In early September1943, members of that team killed two German soldiers in the mountains of Kato Simi, an area just a few kilometres northwest of Myrtos. Upon this incident, the German army sent a "lohos" (a team of about 100 soldiers) from its headquarters in Vianos to fight the rebels. But, trapped in a creek, nearly all the German soldiers died. In retaliation to their loss, on September 15th 1943 (after looting the houses and several mass executions) they set all the villages, including Myrtos, on fire. In Myrtos alone, the Germans executed 18 people including a woman. The people fled to the mountains and to nearby Ierapetra, unable to return to their homes for more than one year. When they did return they found nothing but ruins, the Marshall Plan however helped to rebuild this beautiful village in 1947.
The folklore museum of Mirtos
The museum is located in the village of Mirtos. Minoan pottery, agricultural tools, domestic vessel weaving tools and precious relics of history are exhibited.
