Thessaloniki
Thessaloniki (, ) or Salonica is the second-largest city in Greece and the capital of Macedonia, the nation's largest region. It is officially the S?µp?te?sa Symprotevousa (lit. co-capital) of Greece in much the same way as it was called the s?µßas?e?sa symbasilevousa (co-queen) of the Byzantine Empire. 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 has been 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 has hosted 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) appellation 'Thessaloniki'. The alternative name Salonica, formerly the common name used in some western European languages, is derived from a variant form Sa? (Saloníki) in popular Greek speech. The city's name is also rendered Thessaloníki or Saloníki with a dark l typical of Macedonian Greek.
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-nike 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.[cf. the account of John Anagnostes.]
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 New Cambridge Medieval History p.779 - Rosamond McKitterick, Christopher Allmand] 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.
Architecture
The architectural map of Thessaloniki has been a direct result of the city's position at the center of all historical developments in the Balkans. Aside from its commercial importance, Thessaloniki was, for many centuries, the military and administrative hub of the region, and beyond this the transportation link between Europe and 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 is 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 is 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 Thessaloniki in 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 (?ptap?).
Museums
Jewish Museum of Thessaloniki (Museo Djudio de Salonik)
Macedonian Museum of Contemporary Art
State Museum of Contemporary Arts  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.
The Jews of Thessaloniki
Thessaloniki's Jewish community was largely of Sephardic background, but also included the historically significant and ancient Greek-speaking Romaniote community. During the Ottoman era, Thessaloniki's Sephardic refugee community comprised more than half the city's population and Jews were dominant in commerce until the Greek population increased after 1912. Within the interwar Greek state the Jews enjoyed the same civil rights as all other Greeks.[History] As a result of the Jewish influence on the city, many non-Jewish inhabitants of Thessaloniki also spoke Ladino, the Romance language of the Sephardic Jews, and the city virtually ground to a stop on Saturday, the Jewish Sabbath.[Central Europe Review - Macedonian Jews: Remembering the Past]
A great blow to the Jewish community of Thessaloniki came with the great fire of 1917, which left 50,000 Jews homeless.[History] Many Jews emigrated to Turkey,
In March 1926, Greece had re-emphasised that all citizens of Greece enjoyed equal rights, and a considerable proportion of the Jews of the city stuck by their earlier conviction they should remain. By 1944 the great majority of the community firmly identified themselves as both Greek and Jewish. According to Misha Glenny, these Greek Jews had largely not encountered "anti-Semitism in its North European form..the twentieth century had witnessed the rise of anti-Jewish sentiment among Greeks... but it attracted an insignificant minority".["Misha Glenny, The Balkans, page 512"] By the mid 1940s the prospect of German deportation to death camps was repeatedly met with disbelief by an increasingly well integrated Greek Jewish population. Mordechai Frizis was nevertheless among the leading Greek officers of World War II.
Thessaloniki's Jewish community continued to play an important role in the city's life up until its occupation by the Nazis in World War II. The Nazis murdered approximately 96% of Thessaloniki's Jews of all ages in the Holocaust, effectively ending the Jewish community of Thessaloniki. Today, fewer than 1,000 Jews are left in Thessaloniki, although there are communities of Thessaloniki Jews -- both Sephardic and Romaniote -- in the United States and Israel.
Jewish Population of Thessaloniki[History]
Ethnic statistics
The tables below show the ethnic statistics of Thessaloniki during the end of 19th and the beginning of 20th century.
Economy
Thessaloníki is a major port city and an industrial and commercial center. The city's industries center around oil, steel, petrochemicals, textiles, machinery, flour, cement, pharmaceuticals, and liquor. Being a free port, the city functions as the gateway to the Balkan hinterland. The city is also a major transportation hub for the whole of southeastern Europe, carrying, among other things, trade to and from the newly capitalist countries of the region. A considerable percentage of the city's working force are employed in small- and medium-sized businesses and in the service and the public sectors.
In recent years, the city has begun a process of deindustrialization and a move towards a service based economy. A spate of factory shut downs have occurred in order to take advantage of cheaper labor markets and more lax regulations. Among the largest companies to shut down factories are Goodyear, PFI (?F?), AVEZ (the first industrial factory in northern Greece built in 1926),[http://www.makthes.gr/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=10661 Information is in Greek from one of the city's largest dailies.] and VIAMIL . Siemens is also considering shutting down their plant in the city.
Festivals
Thessaloniki is home to a number of festivals and events, including the Thessaloniki International Trade Fair, with its eighty-year history; the city's Fair has been hosted at the Thessaloniki International Exhibition Center and attracts over 300,000 visitors in 2007. The Thessaloniki International Film Festival has been established as one of the most important film festivals in Southeastern Europe, with a number of notable film makers such as Francis Ford Coppola, Faye Dunaway, Catherine Deneuve, Irene Papas and Fatih Akin taking part. The "Documentary Festival", founded in 1999, has focused on documentaries that explore global social and cultural developments, with many of the films presented being candidates for FIPRESCI and Audience Awards. The Dimitria festival, founded in 1966 and named after the city's patron saint of St. Demetrius, has focused on a wide range of events including music, theatre, dance, local happenings, and exhibitions. The "DMC DJ Championship" has been hosted at the International Trade Fair of Thessaloniki and has become a worldwide event for aspiring DJs and turntablists. The "International Festival of Photography" has taken place every February to mid-April, attracting the interest of both the photographic world and the public. Exhibitions for the event are sited at museums, heritage landmarks, galleries, bookshops and cafes.
Sports
The main football stadiums in the city are the state-owned Kaftanzoglio Stadium, Toumba Stadium and Kleanthis Vikelides Stadium home grounds of Iraklis, PAOK and Aris respectively. PAOK, Iraklis and Aris are founding members of the Greek league. Thessaloniki's major indoor arenas are the state-owned Alexandreio Melathron, home to Aris indoor departments and various other cultural activities, PAOK Sports Arena and the YMCA indoor hall.
In basketball, Aris has won 10 Greek Championships, 8 Greek Cups, and 3 European titles, with PAOK and Iraklis following suit with many successes too. In volleyball, Iraklis is considered by far the most successful team in the city and one of the 3 most successful teams in Greece having won 3 Volleyball Championships, 5 Cups, 2 Super Cups, and having reached the final of the Volley Champions League twice. In October 2007, Thessaloniki organized the first South Eastern European Games.[1?e? t? t?t?a?at?p? - SEE games - Thessaloniki 2007]
Notable Thessalonians
Thessaloniki, throughout its history has been home to a number of politicians, artists, craftsmen, sportsmen, clergy and singers among others.
Geography
Thessaloniki was hit by powerful earthquakes in 620, 667, 700, 1677, 1759, 1902, 1904, 1905, 1932, and 1978. The event in 1978 measured a 6.5 magnitude on the Richter scale.[http://caltecheerl.library.caltech.edu/221/00/7803.pdf PDF file]
Climate
Thessaloniki lies on the northern fringe of the Thermaic Gulf, along its western side, and to its south-eastern side is bordered by Mt. Hortiatis. The city borders the Mediterranean and Mid-European Temperate climates. Annual rainfall has averaged 451 mm (17.75 inches). Snowfall has been sporadic, but has occurred almost annually.
Thessaloniki was hit by powerful earthquakes in 620, 667, 700, 1677, 1759, 1902, 1904, 1905, 1932, and 1978. The event in 1978 measured a 6.5 magnitude on the Richter scale.[http://caltecheerl.library.caltech.edu/221/00/7803.pdf PDF file]
The city lies in the transitional climatic zone, so its climate has displayed characteristics of continental as well as mediterranean climate. The winter is relatively dry, with morning frost being common. Snow has occurred almost annually, but usually has not persisted for many days. During the worst winter spells, temperatures have dropped as low as -10C/14F (Record min. -14C/7F).
Thessaliniki's summers have been hot and their nights humid. Maximum temperatures have generally risen above 30C/86F, but have rarely overshot 40C/104F (Record max. 44C). Rain has been infrequent during summer, and has occurred mainly in the form of thunderstorms.
Transportation
Public transport in Thessaloniki is currently served only by buses. The bus company operating in the city is called Organismos Astikon Sygkoinonion Thessalonikis (OASTH), or Thessaloniki Urban Transportation Organization.
Thessaloniki Metro
The construction of the Thessaloniki Metropolitan Railway was under discussion for more than fifteen years,[ but construction began in 2006 and is scheduled to last around six and a half years, with a completion date envisaged for late 2012.][ Some stations of the Thessaloniki Metro will house a number of archaeological finds.]
Discussions are underway on future expansion, in order to connect the underground with the major transport hubs for the city, the Makedonia Central Bus Station, the Central Railway Station, and Makedonia International Airport. Expansions to Kalamaria, the easternmost suburb of Thessaloniki, and to Stavroupoli, in the west, are part of the initial construction phase. Future expansions include the districts of Eleftherio-Kordelio, and the northern districts, such as Toumba.
Motorways
Thessaloniki was without a motorway link until the 1970s. The city is accessed by GR-1/E75 from Athens, GR-4, GR-2, (Via Egnatia) /E90 and GR-12/E85 from Serres and Sofia; by the early 1970s the motorway had reached Thessaloniki and was the last section of the GR-1 to be completed, while 1980s construction saw completion of the city's 4-lane bypass, which was finally opened to traffic in 1988 and runs from the western industrial side of the city all the way to its southeast, approaching Thermi and Halkidiki. Recently upgraded, it now takes in a number of new junctions and improved motorway features; the latest motorway expansion was toward the Via Egnatia, northwest of Thessaloniki.
Railways
The city is a major railway hub for the Balkans, with direct connections to Sofia, Skopje, Belgrade, Moscow, Vienna, Budapest, Bucharest and Istanbul, alongside Athens and other major destinations in Greece. Commuter rail services have recently been established between Thessaloniki and Litochoro, Pieria, covering the journey in approximately 45 to 50 minutes.
Airport
Air traffic to and from the city is served by Makedonia International Airport, for both international and domestic flights. The short length of the airport's two runways means that it does not support intercontinental flights, although there are plans for major expansion. The expansion of one of the runways into the Thermaic Gulf is being undertaken, so as to enable the servicing of trans-oceanic flights, despite considerable opposition from local environmentalist groups.
Newspapers
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Television
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Twinnings
Alexandria, Egypt, since July 12 1993
Bologna, Emilia-Romagna, Italy, since October 20 1984
Bratislava, Slovakia, since April 23 1986
Cologne, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, since May 3 1988
Constanta, Romania, since July 5 1988
Hartford, Connecticut, United States since March 5 1962
Kolkata, India since January 1 2005
Korçë, Albania since October 14 2005
Leipzig, Saxony, Germany, since October 17 1984
Limassol, Cyprus, since June 30 1984
Melbourne, Victoria, Australia since March 19 1984
Nice, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, France, since March 20 1992
Plovdiv, Bulgaria, since February 27 1984
San Francisco, California, United States since August 6 1990
Tel Aviv, Israel, since November 24 1994
Tianjin, China since March 4 2002
Collaborations
Boston, Massachusetts, United States since April 21 1996
Brooklyn Center, Minnesota, United States since July 5 1993
Budapest, Hungary since April 5 1993
Dnipropetrovsk, Ukraine since April 18 2003
Gyumri, Armenia since November 23 2000
Marseille, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, France, since June 4 1991
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States since April 1 2004
Saint Petersburg, Russia, since 2003
Shenyang, China since March 23 2000
Toronto, Canada since September 5 1986
Venice, Italy, since July 17 2003
See also
History of Greece
Jews in Greece
Great Thessaloniki Fire of 1917
OASTH
Further reading
Apostolos Papagiannopoulos,Monuments of Thessaloniki, Rekos Ltd, date unknown.
Apostolos P. Vacalopoulos, A History of Thessaloniki, Institute for Balkan Studies,1972.
John R. Melville-Jones, 'Venice and Thessalonica 1423-1430 Vol I, The Venetian Accounts, Vol. II, the Greek Accounts, Unipress, Padova, 2002 and 2006 (the latter work contains English translations of accounts of the events of this period by St Symeon of Thessaloniki and John Anagnostes).
Thessaloniki: Tourist guide and street map, A. Kessopoulos, Malliarēs-Paideia, 1988.
Mark Mazower, Salonica, City of Ghosts: Christians, Muslims and Jews, 1430-1950, 2004, ISBN 0-375-41298-0.
Thessaloniki City Guide, Axon Publications, 2002.
James C. Skedros, Saint Demetrios of Thessaloniki: Civic Patron and Divine Protector, 4th-7Th Centuries (Harvard Theological Studies), Trinity Press International (1999).
Vilma Hastaoglou-Martinidis (ed.), Restructuring the City: International Urban Design Competitions for Thessaloniki, Andreas Papadakis, 1999.
Matthieu Ghilardi, Dynamiques spatiales et reconstitutions paléogéographiques de la plaine de Thessalonique (Grèce) à l'Holocène récent, 2007. Thèse de Doctorat de l'Université de Paris 12 Val-de-Marne, 475 p.
Government
Municipality of Thessaloniki
Thessaloniki Port Authority
?ST - Organisation of Urban Transport of Thessaloniki (Greek & English)
Thessaloniki - Photo Archive Documents 1900-1980
Cultural
Thessaloniki Film Festival
Thessaloniki - Old postcards
Thessaloniki Info & Links
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