Approximately 1595 -1601 built by the Venetians a Lighthouse , founded on bedrock , which operated as an open flame torch ( watchtower ) and referred to as ” light ” in layout plan of the city of Chania 1689 of V. Coronelli.
For the renewal of water and avoiding earthworks , created an opening on the breakwater was constructed in the center of the bastion of St. Nicholas. The latter covered the long distance to the harbor entrance , which protected and , in conjunction with the fortress Bastion . Then constructed and the cantilever , ie the tower of the lighthouse that exists today . Mounted in Venetian trapezoidal base on natural rock. The architectural elements are connected to the local tradition , as shaped by the late Venetian period onwards . At this time the lighthouse took the form we know. The tower of the building consists of three different cross sections : the base section is octagonal , the middle section is dekaexagono and third round . The material of the base is of the same origin and quality with what the Venetians built the fortifications of the city of Chania.
According to a very reliable the English ” light list ” of 1847 and 1859 the lighthouse was restored – on the basis of the Venetian – and in 1839 worked with the new technology for its time . Documented information on the first fixture machine does not exist, as there is not any evidence to show when it stopped working as torch open flame.
The new lighthouse , as mentioned, different from the original . More reminiscent of a minaret and in form and as to the internal stone staircase that leads to the balcony with the glass tower . This is why the monument is not classified in any of the standard towers lighthouses in relation to the cross section . It ‘ lamp port “and consists only of the lighthouse tower , without dwelling guards as other supervised lighthouses . That’s because it is in a residential area so it was not necessary to oversee the operation of an abutting or nearby the tower guard house . However , around the end of the 19th century , built on the base of the lighthouse tile guard house , but demolished before 1967 . Throughout the height of the interior there is a scale of masonry works as helical element stiffness.
In 1864 the lighthouse came under the jurisdiction of the French Company of Ottoman Lighthouses and worked with lighting machine ” mirror D Order ‘. At the end of the Turkish occupation constructed the staircase of the east side , ie the entrance of the tower of Pharos . The perimeter solid stone parapet , the octagonal outpost with small dome is newer construction . They also create conduits through which sea water below the surface of the base of the Lighthouse.
The Lighthouse, ornament and ” trademark ” of the city , has a height of 21 m , with a height of the outbreak from the sea 26m light reaches a distance of 7 miles. It is the oldest extant , not only of Greek and Mediterranean coasts , but also one of the oldest in the world .