Church of Agios Georgios "Kokkiniakos"
The church of Agios Georgios is located in the area "Kokkiniakos," in the village of Krousonas (21 km from Heraklion). A Turkish decree in 1768 mentions the area's name, where Turkish families lived.
The water tank that survives to this day in the courtyard of the stone church reminds us of a story from the past. According to local tradition, a Turk had turned the church into a stable. For this ungodly behaviour, Saint George punished him, grabbed him and threw him in the tank to drown. The Turk then abandoned his property by selling it at a humiliating price to a Christian.
The Kokkiniakos area was continuously inhabited from the Minoan years 1500 BC until the Turkish occupation. In 1818, a settlement named Kokkiniakos was recorded with 15 Muslim families and 15 houses.
Excavations carried out in the 1980s by Mrs Nota Dimopoulou revealed a Minoan settlement with the possible presence of a palace.
In the 1980s, a monastery with a monk operated in the area.
Since its foundation in 1980, the Krousona Builders Association has chosen Agios Georgios Kokkiniakos as its patron. The Labour Centre of Heraklion (E.K.H.) and the Krousonas Builders Association hold events at the site.
In 2024, a monument was created in the surrounding area of Agios Georgios Kokkiniakos to honour the victims of labour accidents in Greece at the initiative of the Krousonas Builders Association, the E.K.H., the G.S.E.E. of the Labour Centres of Crete and Rhodes. It is the only monument to labour accidents that exists in Greece.