Agios Konstantinos village: Beaches, Stays, Things to do

Agios Konstantinos is a village located in the prefecture of Rethymno, about 22 km southwest of the city of Rethymno. It is situated near Zouridi and is built on a wide plateau at an altitude of 250 meters. The village is surrounded by olive trees, vineyards, carobs, cypresses, and other forest trees. Agios Konstantinos has a rich history dating back to ancient times. During the Byzantine period, it was given to the family of Hortatsis. Later, it was used as a leisure resort or permanent residence by many nobles during the Venetian rule. The village was named after a church built in 1315 and restored later.

Agios Konstantinos has many preserved buildings that testify to the Venetian presence in the area, such as the Venetian fountain of Barozzi, the ruins of the Venetian mint, as well as the ruins of a Byzantine monastery and a mansion. The village was also the headquarters of the Revolutionary Committee during the Turkish occupation. The committee was later transferred to the village of Margarites, where it was dissolved. During the German occupation, the inhabitants were forced to build barracks with their home materials and with what was left of the villa Barozzi. The barracks still remain today and there are efforts to salvage them as modern historical monuments.

Other remarkable monuments that exist in the area between the villages of Agios Konstantinos and Agios Georgios are the ruins of the old village of Artos. It is believed that it existed during Venetian rule and was destroyed by the Turks.

Things to do in Agios Konstantinos

The village itself is the first thing to see, and the rest sits within 7 km of it: a monastery, an ancient city, two easy gorges and the nearest sandy coast. Nothing here needs a full day, so two or three of these fit into one. The list runs from the village outwards.

1. Walk the village and its ruins. The Venetian fountain of Barozzi, the ruins of the mint, the Byzantine monastery and mansion, the church of 1315 that gave the village its name and the German-era barracks built from the stone of the Barozzi villa all stand inside the settlement, on a plateau at 250 metres.
2. Visit the Profitis Ilias Monastery at Roustika. The monastery lies 1.6 km away and is listed here as Profitis Ilias Monastery at Roustika.
3. See Ancient Lappa. The site of the ancient city sits 2.3 km from the village, with its own page at Ancient Lappa.
4. Hike the twin Kollita gorges. Two parallel canyons run down to the village of Kato Poros, 3.1 km and 3.5 km from Agios Konstantinos, and both are easy enough for first-time walkers: the eastern one, between the Vigla peak at 567 m and the Nissiani hill with its deserted Nissi settlement, is Moundros Gorge (Kollita), and the western one, named after the village at its entrance, is Kollita Gorges (Vilandredo). You can leave the car in Kato Poros or Argyroupolis.
5. Spend a morning in Argyroupolis. The spring-fed hill village stands 3.2 km away at about 260 metres above the Mouselas river valley, built on the grounds of ancient Lappa, with waterfalls and old grain mills that now serve trout beside running water; see Argyroupolis.
6. Drive down to Episkopi beach. The nearest sand is 6.5 km away, a 3.5 km shore with shallow water, a lifeguard, sunbeds and snack bars along its western half and a quiet eastern end by the Petres bridge; it is covered on Episkopi beach, and the village that names it on Episkopi town.

One more site sits a little further out for anyone following the older history. The Fylaki Domed Tomb lies 5.2 km away. Eating is spread across the villages around the plateau rather than concentrated in one street. Within 4 km you have Tavern Restaurant Fagopotion Polopetros at Roustika 1.2 km out, Tavern Arhaia Lappa 2.9 km, Taverna Koundourakis and Athivoles both 3.4 km, and Garden Arkoudainas 3.6 km.