Askifou War Museum — Attraction in Municipality of Sfakia

I cannot speak highly enough of this museum and of its owner, Andreas. The shared reason of Andreas’ father starting the collection and him carrying it on - that of keeping the history of the invasion and occupation of Crete alive - is a truly noble and valuable one. We should be thankful for people like Andreas who ensure that the extraordinary actions of ordinary people are commemorated, now and forever.

The museum itself is packed full of artefacts collected from around the island, largely comprising weaponry and assorted items soldiers from all sides possessed at the time of the invasion and subsequent occupation of Crete. Andreas, despite his fairly limited English, gave a thorough description of all the items (all the more impressive given that there are over 2,000 of them) and his granddaughter was on hand to answer the many questions we had. There was also an annex at the side filled with excellent local produce, the majority of it homemade. I can highly recommend the strawberry raki, we bought a few bottles and got through them far too quickly!

Now for dreaded entry fee that incredibly some other uses have complained about... We were asked to give €5 each at the end of our tour, which we already knew about upon entering due to the signs, which we were more than happy to give. €5 seemed to us like absolutely nothing to contribute, given that this is evidently Andreas’ life’s work, and that he is keeping a very important part of the islands history alive. How entitled do you need to be to expect something like that for free?

A long-winded review but hopefully you have stuck with it and will visit the museum, I would go back again in...

It's a tiny museum of WW2 items collected on the island, by everal generations of the family. Don't expect a 'real' museum with labels, but the items are curated and organised with care and the family is happy to explain more about anything you are interested in. It's more like a private initiative to preserve a slice of history the family has personal experience of. On the other hand, I felt history to be more alive displayed in such manner, in this environment, than in sleek display cases in state museums. I took my parents there because we all read some books in preparation for the family holiday and one of them (The Girl Under the Olive Tree) mentioned this place, plus my father is very interested in history. When we arrived, the granddaugther of the original collector greeted us, told us about the history of the museum, the events that took place on Crete in WW2, and explained about the items outside. Her English is very good and she was really knowledgable and nice! In the inside room we were guided by the son of the original collector, himself also collecting items. The environment itself is worth a drive - the view is wonderful! We also bought some home made rakis from the little shop and they were delicious. I don't usually enjoy war themed exhibitions, but I would recommend this one. It's not really about the war; it's a poignant little place that somehow keeps the memory of the people (occupiers, freedom fighters, allies and most importantly, ordinary citizens) who lived and passed by here alive through their objects from...

We discovered the war memorial in Sfakia by accident and read up on the history regarding the area's involvement in WWII and were particularly interested because of the number of ANZACS that were rescued from here. So when, on our way out of Sfakia, we saw the signs to this 1941-1945 war museum, we just had to stop. And we are so glad we did. The man who started the museum was a witness to the passing of the ANZACS through the valley and down to Sfakia for the evacuation (sadly not everyone got evaluated so many ANZACS were taken as POW). His son, Andreas and his grand-children still operate this private museum. The exhibition is nothing short of fascinating for such a small, privately-run museum. Andreas is knowledgeable and will give you a quick tour. We were more than happy to leave a donation to this place which, sadly, does not sort appear to receive any state funding. The metal helmets sporting bullet holes are a chilling reminder of what happened in...