The castle of Firkas was built in the 16 th century by the Venetian dominants of the island, in order to protect both the town and the port of Chania. It is a historic place for Crete in general and Chania in particular. It is on this castle that in 1897 were raised the flags of the Great Powers (Britain, France, Russia and Italy), a fact that signaled the autonomy of Crete and the deliberation from the Ottoman dominance. It is at the Firkas Castle that on the 1 st of December 1913, El.Venizelos declared the incorporation of Crete to the territory of Greece. Today the castle hosts the Maritime museum and a small theatre.