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Local architecture | Historic neighborhood

Past
forward
The cinematic setting of
the run-down Tabakaria
neighbourhood narrates
its glorious past.
Το κινηματογραφικό
σκηνικό της
ερειπωμένης γειτονιάς
των Ταμπακαριών
αφηγείται το ένδοξο
παρελθόν του.
by Dimitris Golegos

Traversing the aristocrat-
ic area of Chalepa, the view
of Tabakaria evokes feel-
ings of awe, as well as melan-
choly. Going back 200 years,
more that 90 tanneries gave
the area its industrial activity
and identity, from 1830 to the
end of the 1970s, supporting
an extensive leather export
industry and large domes-
tic consumption. An integral
part of the history of Chania,
Tabakaria today mirrors the
results of modernization that
brought the gradual end to
the golden age of tannery. Af-
ter a period of abandonment
and indifference, the next
chapter of the story begins in
2014, when the 26 traditional
industrial structures are pro-
claimed as protected build-
ings; the ones still in opera-
tion are few and far between. 35°31'11.8"N 24°02'15.3"E
Adapted to the natural incli-
nations of the landscape, the
tanneries have only a ground

92 GREC14N 2018