Villa Ariadne

This large villa was built in 1906 according to the wishes of archaeologist Arthur Evans. He and his colleagues lived here.

The Greek government and royal family fled to Crete when Athens was on the verge of falling into German hands. King George II sought refuge in this villa.

During the Battle of Crete in 1941, the villa was converted into a field hospital where Allied and German soldiers were treated.

During the German occupation of Crete, the villa served as the residence of the German commander of Heraklion. In 1944, an SOE team landed on Crete to kidnap the then-governor-commander, General Kreipe, and his driver.

Leigh-Fermor, part of the abduction team, describes the villa in his book "Abducting a General":

"The fence began a few yards away, and there, in its decorative jungle of trees and shrubs, with the German flag flying from the roof, stood the Villa. Formidable barbed wire surrounded it.

We could see the striped barrier across the drive and the sentry boxes, where the steel-helmeted guard was being changed. Enemy traffic rumbled past, to erakleion, three miles away."

After the German withdrawal in 1944, Villa Ariadne became the British Area Command HQ. The newly formed UNRRA soon moved in, launching relief efforts for the Cretan population.

On May 9, 1945, the German formal surrender of Crete was signed in this villa.

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Source

• Text: TracesofWar
• Photos: TracesofWar
• BEEVER, A., Crete 1941, Penguin Books Ltd, 2014.
• LEIGH FERMOR, P., Abducting a General, John Murray Publishers Ltd, 2014.