The soldier-and-monk memorial
Commemorating the submarine evacuation, in the courtyard.
An Orthodox monastery on a slope above the **Libyan Sea** in southern Crete, dating from the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries — and its standing in Crete is not only religious but one of **resistance**. Its monks took part in the Cretan risings against the Ottomans repeatedly, and paid for it in burning and plunder. But its best-known chapter is in the **Second World War**: after the **Battle of Crete** in 1941 and the Allied withdrawal, hundreds of British, Australian and New Zealand soldiers were stranded in the southern mountains. The **monks of Preveli** sheltered, fed and hid them, and with the local people organised their **evacuation by sea** from the beach below the monastery aboard **British submarines** that came in by night. When the Germans found out they **burned and looted the monastery** and executed those who had helped. After the war the British and New Zealand governments gave the monastery gifts in recognition, and a **memorial** to a soldier and a monk stands in its courtyard. ⚠ The view from its terrace over the Libyan Sea is among the finest in southern Crete.
Commemorating the submarine evacuation, in the courtyard.
Among the finest in southern Crete, from the terrace.
Icons, treasures and the post-war government gifts.
After Crete fell in **May–June 1941**, hundreds of Allied soldiers were left behind the lines and crossed the mountains southward to avoid capture. **Monks and villagers** sheltered them, though the penalty for doing so was execution. It was then arranged with the Royal Navy that **submarines** would come in by night to the beach below the monastery — isolated, with no road to it — take the men off in batches and dive before dawn. The operation was repeated several times and saved hundreds. ⚠ When the Germans discovered it they **burned the monastery** and executed helpers, which is part of why Preveli holds the place it does in Cretan memory.
**Both, but they are separate visits**, which confuses many people. The monastery is on the slope with a road to it and parking, and visiting is easy (an hour, modest dress). **Preveli Beach** is several kilometres away with its **own car park**, and needs a **15–20 minute walk down a steep path** and a harder climb back — it is not directly below the monastery as some assume. Plan both as a **half-day to a day** by car: the monastery first in the morning, then the beach to swim. ⚠ Or reach the beach **by boat from Plakias** and skip the descent altogether.
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