Frangokastelo

In the southeaster corner of the prefecture of Chania, about 65 km from the city and about 15 Km east of Sfakia, is Frangokastelo. It was built by the Venetians in the 14th century. In 1828, during the Cretan uprising against Ottoman domination of the island, 5000 Turkish soldiers massacred more than 600 Cretan warriors who had taken refuge in the castle. Since then, according to legend, the anniversary of the massacre, the ghosts of dead warriors are “Drosoulites” as they are called, getting up from the nearby cemetery, armed as then, and forming a procession passing through the castle and ends in the sea.