Timbakion: Remembrance and Historical Layers

Timbakion (Tympáki) brings together two clearly distinct historical perspectives: remembrance of the German occupation in the town and archaeological evidence in nearby Agia Triada. A further era is represented by the single-nave Church of Saint George in Agia Triada. A cultural and historical trip therefore offers an annual commemorative date and several widely separated periods in time.

Remembrance in Tympáki

A commemorative event is held in Tympáki every year on the second Sunday in February. It recalls events from the German occupation between 1941 and 1945 and is intended to preserve a shared historical memory. Because the date is determined by the day of the week rather than a fixed date in the month, it falls on a different day in February each year. If you want to plan your trip around this occasion, check the exact date for the relevant year. This keeps the annual calendar rule distinct from the historical period: the Sunday in February marks the day of remembrance, while the years 1941 to 1945 are the period of the events being commemorated.

The background to the commemoration is directly connected to the history of the town. During the German occupation, after the Germans evacuated Tympáki, it was razed almost to the ground; only a few buildings remained to house the Germans. If you are interested in the history of the occupation years, the recurring day of remembrance here is linked to a specific local turning point.

Archaeological layers in Agia Triada

Nearby Agia Triada takes you back to a much earlier period. It was already inhabited in the 3rd millennium BC; settlement remains and graves attest to this early habitation. These finds provide a distinct starting point for the chronology, before the area's later buildings come into view. This makes it possible to distinguish the settlement's history from the dates of individual buildings.

The villa at Agia Triada was built around 1600 BC and destroyed in the 15th century BC. A Mycenaean palace was built on its ruins, dating from the 14th to the 11th century BC. A settlement with a colonnaded hall, known as the “Agora,” was also built north of the villa. This sequence distinguishes the different building phases: the villa is older, the palace was built later on its ruins, and the settlement with the colonnaded hall was located to the north.

The Church of Saint George in Agia Triada was built during Venetian rule in the 14th century AD. Its single-nave design and date offer a further historical point of reference, considerably later than the dates given for the villa and palace. The nearby sites thus span a period from early settlement to the Venetian era.

Putting the historical highlights into context

Your trip planning can therefore focus on different questions: the day of remembrance offers a recurring annual connection to the occupation period, while Agia Triada leads to settlement remains, graves, and several building phases. The church adds a date from the 14th century AD to this archaeological history. These perspectives do not form a continuous chronology of a single place, but refer to different eras and to Tympáki and nearby Agia Triada. If you are looking for a specific date to plan around, the second Sunday in February is relevant. For a broader historical perspective, the different dates for the settlement, villa, palace, and church provide clearly distinguishable points of reference.

Discover more destinations: Vathianos Kampos, Kato Loutraki, Kounavi, Listaros, Finikia, Galatas, Astrakoi, Tylissos

For the wider travel overview: Heraklion.