Thessaloniki Totally Explained

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Thessaloniki () or Salonica is the second-largest city in Greece and the capital of Macedonia, the nation's largest region. It is the largest city in the wider geographical region of Macedonia, and also one of the largest cities in southeastern Europe. The Thessaloniki Urban Area extends around the Thermaic Gulf for approximately and comprises 16 municipalities. According to the 2001 census, the municipality of Thessaloniki had a population of 363,987, while the metropolitan population approximates one million inhabitants.
Thessaloniki is Greece's second major economic, industrial, commercial and political centre, and a major transportation hub for the rest of southeastern Europe; its commercial port is also of great importance for Greece and its southeast European hinterland. It is traditional for the country's Prime Minister to set out his government's policies for each coming year in a speech at the annual Thessaloniki International Trade Fair.
Thessaloniki retains several Ottoman and Jewish structures as well as a large number of Byzantine architectural monuments. The city hosts an annual International Trade Fair, the Thessaloniki International Film Festival, and the largest bi-annual meeting of the Greek diaspora.

Name

All variations for the city's name derive from the original (and current) appelation 'Thessaloniki'. The alternative name Salonica, formerly the common name used in some western European languages, is derived from a variant form Σαλονίκη (Saloníki) in popular Greek speech. The city's name is also rendered Thessaloníki or Saloníki with a dark l typical of Macedonian Greek. Names in other languages prominent in the city's history include سلانيك in Ottoman Turkish and Selânik in modern Turkish, Solun (Cyrillic: Солунь) in the Slavic languages of the region, Sãrunã in Aromanian, and Selanik in Ladino. It is also knows as 'Thess' by the diaspora Greeks who returned to Greece and by the international forces stationed in the variouis ex-Yugslav territory and who visit the city for their short breaks.
Thessaloniki is commonly called the Συμπρωτεύουσα Symprotevousa (lit. co-capital) of Greece since the National Schism, in much the same way as it was called the συμβασιλεύουσα symbasilevousa (co-queen) of the Byzantine Empire. It was also considered to be the second-most important city in the Ottoman empire.

History

The city was founded around 315 BC by the King Cassander of Macedon, on or near the site of the ancient town of Therma and twenty-six other local villages. He named it after his wife Thessalonike, a half-sister of Alexander the Great (Thessalo-nikē means the "victory of Thessalians"). It was an autonomous part of the Kingdom of Macedon. After the fall of the kingdom of Macedon in 168 BC, Thessalonica became a city of the Roman Republic. It grew to be an important trade-hub located on the Via Egnatia and facilitating trade between Europe and Asia. The city became the capital of one of the four Roman districts of Macedonia.
   When in 379 the Roman Prefecture of Illyricum was divided between East and West Roman Empires, Thessaloníki became the capital of the new Prefecture of Illyricum. The economic expansion of the city continued through the twelfth century as the rule of the Komnenoi emperors expanded Byzantine control to the north. Thessaloniki passed out of Byzantine hands in 1204, when Constantinople was captured by the Fourth Crusade. Thessaloníki and its surrounding territory—the Kingdom of Thessalonica—became the largest fief of the Latin Empire. The city was recovered by the Byzantine Empire in 1246 sold it in 1423 to Venice, which held the city until it was captured by the Ottoman Sultan Murad II on 29 March 1430.
   During the Ottoman period, the city's Muslim and Jewish population grew. By 1478, Selanik had a population of 4,320 Muslims and 6,094 Greek Orthodox, as well as some Catholics, but no Jews. By ca. 1500, the numbers had grown to 7,986 Greeks, 8,575 Muslims, and 3,770 Jews, but by 1519, there were 15,715, 54% of the city's population. The invitation of the Sephardic Jews expelled from Spain by Ferdinand and Isabella, was an Ottoman demographic strategy aiming to prevent the Greek element from dominating the city. The city remained the largest Jewish city in the world for at least two centuries, often called "Mother of Israel". Selanik was a sanjak centre in Rumeli Eyaleti till 1864. It was centre of Selanik Vilayeti, which consisted sanjaks of Selanik, Serez and Drama between 1864-1912.
From 1870, driven by economic growth, the city's population exploded by 70%, reaching 135,000 in 1917.
   During the First Balkan War, the Ottoman garrison surrendered Salonica to the Greek Army, on November without any resistance. In 1915, during World War I, a large Allied expeditionary force landed at Thessaloniki as the base for a massive offensive against pro-German Bulgaria. In 1916, pro-Venizelist army officers, with the support of the Allies, launched the Movement of National Defence, which resulted in the establishment of a pro-Allied temporary government that controlled northern Greece and the Aegean, against the official government of the King in Athens, which lead the city to be dubbed as symprotévousa ("co-capital"). Most of the old town was destroyed by a single fire on, accidentally sparked by French soldiers in encampments at the city. The fire left some 72,000 homeless, many of them Turkish, of a population of approximately 271,157 at the time. Thessaloniki fell to the forces of Nazi Germany on April 22 1941, and remained under German occupation until 30 October 1944. The city suffered considerable damage from Allied bombing, and almost its entire Jewish population was exterminated by the Nazis. Barely a thousand Jews survived. Thessaloniki was rebuilt and recovered fairly quickly after the war with large-scale development of new infrastructure and industry throughout the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s.
   On 20 June 1978, the city was hit by a powerful earthquake, registering a moment magnitude of 6.5. The tremor caused considerable damage to several buildings and even to some of the city's Byzantine monuments; forty people were crushed to death when an entire apartment block collapsed in the central Hippodromio district. Early Christian and Byzantine monuments of Thessaloniki were inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage list in 1988, and Thessaloniki later became European City of Culture 1997. In 2004 the city hosted a number of the football events forming part of the 2004 Summer Olympics. Thessaloniki unsuccessfully bid for the 2008 World EXPO, this time won by Zaragoza in Spain, but another planned bid for 2017 was announced in September 2006 and is now in full development.

Government

As Thessaloniki is the second largest city in Greece, and an influential city in Northern Greece, it functions as the capital of the Central Macedonia Periphery, Thessaloniki Prefecture, and Thessaloniki Municipality.

Urban Landscape

Architecture

the Levant.
   The city attracted merchants, traders and refugees from across Europe, including Jews joining the city's earlier population. The authorities replaced part of the city's earliest Byzantine walls to allow it to expand, which it did, to the east and west along the coast. The need for commercial and public buildings in this new era of prosperity led to a marked shift in architectural direction and the construction of large edifices in the city center, in lots formerly occupied by small, shabby one-family homes. During this time, the city saw the building of banks, large hotels, theaters, warehouses, and factories. The city layout changed after 1870, when the seaside fortifications gave way to extensive piers, and many of the oldest walls of the city were demolished including those surrounding the White Tower.
   The expansion of Eleftherias Square towards the sea completed the new commercial hub of the city. The western districts are classified as a the working class section, near the factories and industrial activity; the middle and upper classes gradually moved to the east suburbs of the town from the center, leaving the latter mostly business dominated. The most decisive and unforeseen moment in the city's modern history was 1917. A devastating fire swept through the city that year and burned uncontrollably for 32 hours. It destroyed the city's historic center and a large part of its architectural heritage, including many buildings of rare beauty.
   A team of architects and urban planners led by Ernest Hebrard, a French architect chose the Byzantine era as the basis for their (re)building designs. The new city plan included axes, diagonal streets and monumental squares, with a street grid that would channel traffic smoothly. The plan of 1917 included provisions for the future population explosion and an adequate street and road network that would have been sufficient even today. It contained sites for public and significant buildings, the restoration of important Byzantine churches and landmarks and of Ottoman mosques, whereas the whole of the Upper City, near the fortifications, was declared a heritage site. The plan also included a site for the campus of the future University of Thessaloniki, which was never fully realized, although today's University campus incorporates some of Hebrard's ideas nonetheless.
   An important element of the plan was to achieve a fine balance between contemporary urban planning and architectural ideas, and the city's rich tradition and history. These plans were never to be fully implemented, and the city lacks a full administrative district to this day. Nevertheless, this aspect of the plan influenced a number of building and planning decisions throughout the 20th century, with inevitable adaptations to service the population explosion of the last 50 years.

Landmarks

The White Tower of Thessaloniki (Lefkos Pyrgos), widely regarded as the symbol of the city.
The Arch and Tomb of Galerius is more commonly known as the "Kamara" and ornately decorated, crafted with a reddish-coloured stone.
The Upper Town or 'Ano Poli' is what remains of Ottoman Thessaloniki, with beautiful wooden houses overhanging the winding streets all the way up to the Eptapyrgio at the top of the city. The Ano Poli also contains some of the city's oldest and most important churches, particularly Osios David, St. Nicolaos Orphanos and Vlatades Monastery.
The Church of Aghios Demetrios is the most important church in the entire city. Lying above the remains of the agora and the Roman Forum, the church has three side-chapels, a museum, and underground catacombs that also include Saint Demetrios' imprisonment chamber; he's the patron saint of the city.
OTE Tower, a TV tower is the center of the Thessaloniki Expo Center. A revolving restaurant offers spectacular views of the city.
The waterfront is Thessaloniki's major draw. The promenade of Nikis Avenue runs from the White Tower of Thessaloniki to the giant palace that's now a ferry terminal, and plentiful cafés, restaurants and shops line the waterfront.

The Arch and Tomb of Galerius, or the Church of Aghios Georgios, is a circular church lacking the classic Orthodox iconostasis. The church is built upon former Roman and Greek pagan ruins.

Aristotelous Square extends all the way from Nikis Avenue on the waterfront to the Church of Panayia Halkeion. The square, shaped like a bottle, is lined with tall archondika, or mansions of the affluent, that have now been converted to shops and hotels. A large park lies at the north end of the square, and Thessaloniki's thriving old market is just one block away to the east and west.

The Church of Aghia Sofia, also located in the city center, includes the large church and paved alleyways that make the few blocks around it widely known.

The extensive Byzantine walls of the Upper City (Ano Poli) and kastro.

The Kyvernion (little Palace); former residence of the King and Queen of Greece; in the Karabournaki area, in Eastern Thessaloniki

The modern Concert Hall of Thessalonikiin the East side of the city, near the Posidonion sports center.

Thessaloniki Intemational Trade Fair held every September, organised by Helexpo.

The Seven tower-castle (Επταπύργιον).

Museums

Jewish Museum of Thessaloniki

(Museo Djudio de Salonik)

Macedonian Museum of Contemporary Art

State Museum of Contemporary Arts (External Link

) housing an important collection of 1275 Russian avant-garde works of art, collected by George Costakis

Macedonia-Thrace Folklore and Ethnological Museum, housed in the G. Modiano Mansion

Museum of Byzantine Culture

Thessaloniki Archaeological Museum

Thessaloniki Cinema Museum

Museum of the Macedonian Struggle

Thessaloniki Sports Museum

Water Museum of Thessaloniki

White Tower of Thessaloniki, museum and monument

Thessaloniki Science Center & Technology Museum - NOESIS

Thessaloniki Museum of Photography

Museum of Cinematography

Teloglion Foundation of Art

Artforum Culture Foundation

Artforum Research-institute and public-exhibition-hall

European Center of Byzantine and Postbyzantine Monuments

The Goulandris Natural History Museum

Archaeological sites

Agia Paraskevi, Thessaloniki, archaic cemetery

The Ancient Agora of Thessaloniki

Monastery of Latomos at Thessaloniki

The Roman Palace and Hippodrome

The extensive city walls

Trigonian Tower and the Castra area

Demographics

Although the population of the Municipality of Thessaloniki has declined in the last two censuses, the metropolitan area's population is still growing, as people are moving to the suburbs. Today approximately 1 million people live in the metropolitan area, making it the second largest metropolitan area in Greece after Athens.

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