The building bears the name “Old High School of Neapoli”. It was built in 1870, during the last period of Ottoman rule in Crete. The governor (pasha) of the area was Kostis Adosidis, who installed the capital of the Administration in “Kainourgio Chorio”, after renaming it Neapoli and designing and building public buildings to house all services. This building was originally intended to house a hospital. However, after the departure of Adosidis in 1874, the local residents made the decision for it to house the High School instead. From then and until 1984, that is, for more than a century, it continued to house the dreams and aspirations of hundreds of young people, who hoped to improve their lives through their studies. It remained the only High School in the prefecture of Lassithi until 1916 with great teachers and graduates given the opportunity to enrol in the University of Athens without entry examinations. The Old High School of Neapoli has been designated as a historical monument. It is a single-story, stone building with a wooden, ceramic-tiled roof. Its floor plan is in the shape of the Greek letter enclosing an atrium. Around the atrium is a peristyle that serves as a pathway between the two parallel legs of the building.(Source: pleam.gr) Opening Times June – September: Daily 10:00 – 14:00 (except Monday) October – May: by appointment

Make sure you bring your camera when you visit the Folklore Museum… The staff are very friendly and knowledgeable and will gladly accompany you around the museum. The collections offer a great glimpse into Neapoli and the surrounding area. Visit their website to get information about this little gem of a museum.

https://pleam.gr/en/elementor-831/

The need to preserve the rich local culture, traditions and customs led to the establishment of a cultural institution that would henceforth undertake to preserve this cultural heritage. Thus, a group of active citizens decided to do this by founding the Cultural and Folk History Society of Apano Mirabello (ΠΛΕΑΜ – PLEAM) on August 3, 1978 according to the statute. Article 2 of the initial PLEAM statute defines its mission statement as “the conservation and preservation of local, traditional culture” and Article 3, describes the means by which to achieve this as “the creation of archival and museum collections, which will include any object of folk art, relevant to the customs, beliefs, professional and agricultural activities of the inhabitants, et cetera (…) for which the society will provide housing”.

PLEAM (Cultural and Folk History Society of Apano Mirabello)