Collections

Notable donations that were incorporated into the Municipal Library of Chania are:

Collection of VASILEIOS P. PAPADAKIS

Ambassador of Greece during the government of Ioannis Metaxas. After his death, the family donated his library to the Municipal Library of Chania.

On March 26, 1970, 5,862 volumes of books and magazines were donated during the mayoralty of G. Bredakis. It includes books on history, politics, sociology, literature, philology, art, biographies, etc.

His library is a separate closed collection, the books are classified and registered in the catalog of our Library. Readers can study the books within its premises.

ANTONIS MALMOS Collection (1901-1971)

Antonis Malmos was born in Chania in 1901 and was of Italian descent from his father and Maltese descent from his mother. His parents settled in Chania at the end of the 19th century. Malmos learned his first letters at home from private teachers. He was orphaned by his father at the age of 11, as a result of which he took on the survival of his family. In 1927 he married Angeliki Ploumidaki, niece of Styliani Ploumidaki, mother of Eleftherios Venizelos, and they had a son.

Despite all his poverty, however, he took care to procure books, which over time became numerous. He was the founder and owner of the “Malmeios Library”, which he officially established in 1927. A lover of books and art, an avid collector, he created a rich library and art gallery, lacking the necessities to live.

The library was initially housed on Theophanous Street, in the Venetian port of Chania, and from 1957 to 1971 it was installed in an old Turkish mansion at the intersection of Hatzimichali Daliani Street and the small alley that today bears the name of its founder. This building housed the library and its collections since the end of the occupation. Its only income was from renting out some rooms in the existing building.

During the occupation, he was the consul of Italy and an interpreter at the German Consulate in Chania, where he was accused of collaborating with the occupiers and was eventually acquitted. For several years, the Malmeios Library was the only library open to the public. Its heyday lasted until the death of its founder. Many were stolen after his death until it was donated by his son Vasilios Malmos to the Municipal Library of Chania in 1972.

No delivery and receipt protocol was drawn up, so we do not know the exact number of documents that reached the Municipal Library. The donation consisted of books, magazines, newspapers, manuscripts, archives, maps, fossils, amphorae. They were incorporated into the main collection of the Library and are identified by the stamp with the skull and the saying “Do not forget that you are a human being”.

Collection of BISHOP AGATHANGELOS XIROUHAKIS (1872-1958)

Angelos Xirouhakis was born in the village of Souri, in the Apokoronas District, Chania Prefecture in 1872. In 1892 he became a monk at the Holy Monastery of Gouverneto. He was ordained a deacon in 1894 by Bishop Nikiforos of Kydonia and a priest in 1905 by the same Bishop.

He graduated from the Theological School of the Cross of Jerusalem in 1905. He served as a priest at the Church of St. George in Venice (1906-1920) and the Church of the Holy Trinity in Vienna (1920-1936). On March 1, 1936, he was ordained Bishop of Kydonia and Apokoronas.

He died on February 24, 1958.

After his death, his family donated part of his library to the Municipal Library of Chania (June 1958). The donation consists of 613 volumes, books of historical and religious content, magazines and photographs. His collection is a separate closed collection, the books are classified and registered in the catalog of our Library. Readers can study the writings within its premises.

Collection of GREGORY GEORGOUDAKIS (1885-1969)

He was born in Chania in 1885. He studied medicine and worked in the science of pediatrics. Author of poetry collections and books with philosophical content. For this reason, he was characterized as a medical philosopher.

The donation of his collection to the Municipal Library of Chania consists of books, photographs and furniture.

His collection is a separate section in our Library and has not yet been listed in the catalog.

Collection of the “CHRYSOSTOMOS” LITERARY ASSOCIATION

The “Chrysostomos” Literary Association is the oldest intellectual and cultural association not only in the city of Chania, but also in all of Crete. It was founded in 1899 and was active in issues of a broader social and educational nature. It contributed to the intellectual development of society with lectures, receptions, artistic events, the establishment of schools for the education of young people, the publication of a magazine and the establishment of a library under the name “Athena”. The library was enriched with valuable books and was merged with the library of the Religious Association of Chania “The Apostle Titus”, of the “Cretan Literary Association” and the library of Antonios Giannaris. It will become the largest library in Chania, reaching 16,000 volumes, including 350 old books.

The association’s activities will continue until 1941, when the building was destroyed by German bombing, resulting in the incineration of almost the entire library. However, the association’s archive and a small number of books were saved. In 1970, the association decided to donate approximately 3,000 books to the Municipal Library of Chania.

After the war, the building was repaired and the reopening of the club began in 1964. In 1977, it acquired the photographic archive of Pericles Diamantopoulos, personal photographer of Prince George, and in 1982 he was honored with the silver medal of the Academy of Athens for his contribution to the place.

Today, lectures, conferences, honorary events for prominent people of letters and arts, musical events and art exhibitions are held. It is located at 83 Halidon Street, opposite the Municipal Gallery.

Collection of YIANNIS MICH. CHIOTAKIS

Yiannis Chiotakis was born in Smyrna in 1905. In 1922 he came to Greece as a refugee. He entered the Evelpidon School and in 1927 he graduated as a second lieutenant. He participated in the democratic movement of 1935, for which he was discharged from the army and exiled.

During the German occupation, he participated in the committee of the Greek armed forces of the Middle East. He joined the communist movement at the end of 1941 and then became involved in important resistance activities, helping to free the country from the occupiers.

In 1946, he was imprisoned for a year in Gioura, and in 1948 he was exiled to Makronissos and A-Strati. He was released in 1962 with the dissolution of the camp. He was imprisoned again in 1967 in Gioura and was released for health reasons in 1972.

Yiannis Chiotakis donated 1,145 books to the Municipal Library of Chania in 1993, mainly of historical interest. His collection is a separate section and is listed in the Library’s catalog.

ANTONIOS MARIS Collection

He was a lawyer and Mayor of Chania from 1975 to 1978. After his death, his family donated his collection to the Municipal Library of Chania. In 1983, we received 917 volumes of books and archival material. It is a separate collection and his books have not been registered in the library’s catalog.

IOANNIS KANTARAS Collection

After his death, in 1998, the family of Ioannis Kantaras donated books, magazines, objects, and photo albums of scouting content to the Municipal Library of Chania. It is a separate collection and of great interest for the history of scouting in our country.

EMMANUEL KOUVARITAKIS Collection

Emmanuel Kouvaritakis was a lawyer in our city. He passed away in 1977. Before his death, he had expressed his wish for his books to be kept in the Municipal Library of Chania. Thus, in 1984, his family donated 2,713 volumes of books to the Library, during the Mayorship of Georgios Katsanevakis.

His collection was incorporated into the main collection of the Library.

Other smaller notable donations of books that were incorporated into the Municipal Library of Chania are: by Leonidas Manolikakis, Thalia Kalliyanni, Georgios & Athena Stavroulakis, Michalis Grigorakis, the 1st Gymnasium of Chania with many rare editions of books by ancient Greek authors, etc. The couple, Georgios I. Kardamakis and his wife Antigone, donated on November 14, 1962, to the Municipal Library of Chania, objects consisting of museum material, classical furniture, books, paintings, photographs, etc.