Particularly important is the now restored monastery of the Taxiarches (archangels) at Gouria. Dating to the 16th-18th centuries, it is registered as a historical monument, located southeast of the village, at a distance of about 1.2 km.
From the monastic complex, the katholikon and the cells of the eastern wing are preserved, albeit in ruins. The katholikon belongs to the type of the one-roomed basilica with a gabled roof and semicircular apse with seven elongated and pointed shallow niches. A denticulated cornice and stone bands surround the ellipse of the apse. In later times (1762) the church was extended by adding a narthex with a lower roof, the enclosure and cells of the east wing were built, and a pair of buttresses were added to the long sides of the main body of the church.
The date 1676 is inscribed in the centre of the apse, but the church must be older than the early post-Byzantine period. After the Revolution the monastery was dissolved, but it remained alive and active for another 100 years.
The church is adorned with two layers of frescoes, the first of which was executed by an outstanding painter, probably in the 16th century, who was versed in the technique of Cretan portable icon painting. It is characterised by an excellent skill, an aristocratic style, expressiveness and the use of chiaroscuro. It is an example of the high art of Byzantium and is a wonderful gallery of portraits. The second phase of frescoes was painted in the 18th century by a less skilled artist, who nonetheless followed the themes of the first.
