Spinalonga Island

Spinalonga Island is the more common name from the Venetian times for the uninhabited island of Kalydon. It is located in the north-east of Crete only 750m far from the small coastal town Plaka in the Gulf of Elounda and is often mixed up with Spinalonga peninsula on Crete.

Over the ruins of an acropolis a great fortress was built under the Venetian rule in the 1570ies on Spinalonga which soon became one of the most important sea fortresses in the Mediterranian basin. When they occupied Spinalonga, the Ottomans later removed every trace from the Venetian military presence on the island.

After the last Turk left in 1903 Spinalonga Island was used as a leper colony until the last inhabitant, a priest, left in 1967, 5 years after the last lepers left the island or died.

Thousands of tourists visit Spinalonga Island every year to see the ruins of the leper colony and the fortress. The English author Victoria Hislop even wrote a book called “The Island” that takes place on Spinalonga Island and won many awards including Newcomer of the Year at the 2007 British Book Awards.