Tabakaria Chania
Tanneries were created in the middle of the 19th century as leather processing factories also known as “tanneries”.
The main installations of the buildings were made during the Egyptian rule (1830-1840) while their location was chosen according to the assumption that it was far enough from the city of Chania next to a shallow sea, the water of which served in the first stage of the processing of the skins.
The Tabakaria flourished during the interwar period. They stopped operating during the German Occupation to make a strong comeback after the end of the war. The decline of Tabakarias came gradually in the 1970s until today only one tenth of them operate as businesses.
Today most of the tanneries are abandoned while some of them have changed use. The only element that has remained untouched by time is the imposing architecture of Tabakaria. The buildings have an entrance from the road and from the sea side are two or three steps.
