Church of the Assumption of the Virgin, "Panagia Kera"
The Church of the Assumption of the Virgin "Panagia Kera" is built on an idyllic hill in Krousonas (which is 21 km from Heraklion). It is a two-aisled basilica. The first aisle was constructed during the Second Byzantine period (961-1204), while parts of the hagiographic decoration are preserved to this day. In 1977, the left aisle, dedicated to the Assumption of the Virgin Mary, was added. Until 1888 it was the cemetery church of the village. The two aisles are separated by arches.
The year 1818 at the base of the bell tower reveals the reconstruction of the temple. According to popular tradition, the bell was a gift from a Russian princess who, returning from the Holy Land, stopped her voyage at Heraklion due to a heavy sea storm. When the woman worshipped the miraculous icon of the Virgin Mary, she felt her breasts flood with milk (while she did not have any), and so she managed to breastfeed and save her dying child. Then, the princess placed a bell in her favour, which was made in Odessa, Russia, in 1674, and sent to the church. Because the sound of the bell disturbed the Turks, they removed it and threw it into a neighbouring well. After forty whole years, a Turkish shepherd discovered the place where it was buried and so it was put back in its place.