Overview

Atsipopoulo village, in the Municipality of Nikiforos Fokas, is situated 5km SE of Rethymnon at an altitude of 160m.

Its existence is first testified in 1182, in the document which divided Crete up among twelve Byzantine nobles, whereby Atsipopoulo was assigned to the Chortatsis clan, a noble family of military tradition. It is also mentioned by Barozzi in 1577, by Kastrofilakas in 1583 and by Vasilikatas in 1630. In the Egyptian administration's census of 1834 it is referred to as Prines and Atsipopoulo, comprising 130 families.
By 1881 Atsipopoulo was the seat of the municipality of the same name, with approximately 850 inhabitants. In 1900 it is mentioned as having a population of 885, while by 1920 it had lent its name to a community of 684 people.

Atsipopoulo now has 973 inhabitants and lies within the jurisdiction of the Municipality of Nikiforos Fokas.

The strategic importance of the village gave rise to many battles during the Ottoman occupation and to its eventual destruction by the Turks in 1866; many villagers earned a reputation in this period as brave warriors. The village was also the birthplace of several important men of letters, such as G. Chortatsis, author of the Cretan Renaissance dramas The Sacrifice of Abraham and Erophili.

To this day Atsipopoulo remains one of the most beautiful villages on Crete, not least because the inhabitants were quick to realise the value of its architectural features.
These have been respected, preserved and made such good use of that the village retains the appearance and grandeur of Venetian times.
Visitors are sure to be enchanted by the neighbourhoods, with their courtyards and doorways bearing dates from the 17th and 18th centuries, as well as by the village's churches and other buildings.
Accommodation, dining and entertainment facilities are all available. In short, visitors attracted to Atsipopoulo are guaranteed to leave the area as the finest ambassadors Cretan tourism could wish for.