Agia Irini Monastery
The Agia (Saint) Irini Abbey is located west of the settlement of the same name (which is 23 km from Heraklion) and belongs to the community of Krousonas. Specifically, the Abbey is built at an altitude of 650 meters on the eastern slopes of the Gournos hill. It is believed that it was built during the 14th-15th century, although it was first mentioned in documents of the late 16th century with its abbot, Ionas Danilis. The Monastery- Abbey at the end of the 16th century and the beginning of the 17th century belonged to the Mudazzo’s (Moudatson or Moatson) family.
It was one of the richest monasteries on the island until the first years of the occupation of Crete by the Ottomans, with an intense spiritual and educational activity. The Monastery was destroyed by the Turks in 1822. All its monks were slaughtered at Trochalakas because the Monastery had served as a refuge for the revolutionaries. Its reconstruction began in 1944 and after decades, it started operating again with a few nuns. Officially, the re-establishment of the Monastery was completed in 1951. The Monastery is considered miraculous since, according to famous testimonies, in 1928, a miracle took place with Agia Irini appearing in the Monastery (holding a key similar to that held only by the abbess) and then disappear wrapped in a cloud.
The two-aisled church of the Monastery is dedicated to Agia Irini (celebrating on May 5th) and the Assumption of the Virgin Mary (celebrating on August 15th) and is surrounded by newly built buildings where the nuns live. Also, in the western part of the Katholikon, an underground burial crypt of elaborate technique is preserved.