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Thessaloniki

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File:Thessaloniki seal.png
Seal of Thessaloniki

Thessaloniki, Thessalonica or Salonica (Greek: Θεσσαλονίκη) is the second-largest city of Greece and the capital of the Greek region of Macedonia. It is also the capital of the Thessaloniki prefecture and the capital of the EU region (or, synonymously, Greek periphery) of Central Macedonia.

The popular Greek name Σαλονίκη Saloniki gives it its alternate English name - formerly the common name Salonika (also spelled Salonica), the Turkish Selânik and the Slavic Солун Solun. Other names include Săruna (Aromanian) and סלוניקה (Hebrew).

Thessaloniki's urban area, stretching along a bay of the Thermaic Gulf for approximately 17 km, is comprised of a total of 13 municipalities and has a population of 809.457. The Thessaloniki prefecture has a population of 1,099,598 (2005). Its coordinates are 40°38′N 22°57′E / 40.633°N 22.950°E / 40.633; 22.950.

Thessaloniki is a thriving, vibrant city, also being a major economic, industrial, commercial and cultural center as well as a transportation hub in southeastern Europe. Its commercial port is of a strategic importance for Greece. The city has two universities that host a large student population and it is widely renowned for both its large number of monuments of Byzantine architecture as well as for its eminent nightlife.

As the city's population grows at a steady rate so does the emergence of such problems as traffic congestion and a lack of a sufficient number of parking lots. The construction of a subway line that will stretch along the central districts will begin in 25th June 2006 and is expected to be completed by 2013. This major project along with the construction of an undersea tunnel that will connect the port and the Macedonia Palace Hotel area will significantly improve the forementioned predicaments.

History

File:Ac alexanderstatue.jpg
The statue of Alexander the Great in Thessaloniki sea front.

Hellenistic era

The city was founded circa 315 BC by Cassander, the King of Macedon (Μακεδών), on or near the site of the ancient town of Therma and twenty six other local villages. He named it after his wife Thessalonica, the sister of Alexander the Great. She gained her name from her father, Philip II of Macedon, to commemorate her birth on the day of his gaining a victory (Gr. Nike) over the Thessalians.

Thessaloniki developed rapidly and as early as the second century BC the first walls were built, forming a large square. It was, as all the other contemporary Greek cities, an autonomous part of the Kingdom of Macedon, with its own parliament where the King was represented and could interfere in the city's domestic affairs.

Roman era

The Arch of Galerius

After the fall of the kingdom of Macedon in 168 BC, Thessalonica became a city of the Roman Empire. It grew to be an important trade-hub located on the Via Egnatia, a Roman road that connected Byzantium (later Constantinople), with Dyrrhachium (now Durrës in Albania), facilitating the trade between Europe and Asia. The city was made capital of one of the four Roman districts of Macedonia. It kept its privileges but was ruled by a Praetor and had a Roman garrison. For a short time in the 1st century BC all the Greek provinces were subdued to Thessalonica.

Due to the city's great commercial importance, a spacious harbour was built by the Romans, the famous Burrow Harbour (Σκαπτός Λιμήν) that accommodated the city's trade up to the eighteenth century but covered later. Remnants of the harbour's docks can be found nowadays under Frangon Street, near the Catholic Church.

Thessaloniki's acropolis, located in the northern hills, was built in 55 BC after Thracian raids in the city's outskirts, for security reasons.

It had a sizeable Jewish colony, established during the first century AD and was an early centre of Christianity. On his second missionary journey, St Paul preached in the city's synagogue, the chief synagogue of the Jews in that part of Thessaloniki, and laid the foundations of a church. Opposition against him from the Jews drove him from the city, and he fled to Veroia. Paul's Epistle to the Thessalonians was addressed to the Christian community of Thessalonica.

Thessaloníki acquired a patron saint, St. Demetrius, in 306 AD. He was the Roman Proconsul of Greece under the anti-Christian emperor Maximian and was martyred at a Roman prison, where today lays the Church of St. Demetrius, first built by the Roman sub-prefect of Illyricum, Leontios in 463 AD.

Other important remains from this period include the Arch and Tomb of Galerius, located near the center of the modern city.

Byzantine era

A seventh-century mosaic from Hagios Demetrios representing St Demetrius with children.

When the Roman Empire was divided into eastern and western segments ruled from Byzantium/Constantinople and Rome respectively, Thessaloníki came under the control of the Byzantine Empire. Its importance was second only to Constantinople itself. After a revolt against the emperor Theodosius I in 390 against his Gothic troops, 7,000 - 15,000 of the citizens were massacred in the city's hippodrome in revenge – an act which earned Theodosius a temporary excommunication.

A quiet and prosperous era follows until repeated barbarian invasions after the fall of the Roman Empire, while a catastrophic earthquake severely damaged the city in 620 resulting in the destruction of the Roman Forum and several other public buildings. Thessaloníki itself came under attack from Slavs (the Byzantine sources call them Sklavinies) in the seventh century; however, they failed to capture the city. Greek brothers Saint Cyril and Saint Methodius were born in Thessaloníki and the Byzantine Emperor Michael III encouraged them to visit the northern regions as missionaries; their adopted South Slavonic speech became the basis for the Old Church Slavonic language. In the ninth century, the Byzantines decided to move the market for Bulgarian goods from Constantinople to Thessaloníki. Tsar Simeon I of Bulgaria invaded Thrace, defeated a Byzantine army and forced the empire to move the market back to Constantinople. In 904, Saracens based at Crete managed to seize the city and after a ten day depredation, left with much loot and 22,000 slaves, mostly young people.

Despite this, the city quickly recovered, and the gradual recovery of Byzantine power during the tenth, eleventh and twelfth centuries meant that Thessaloniki entered a new golden age of peace and prosperity. The population of the city expanded, and according to Benjamin of Tudela , the city even had a Jewish community some 500 strong by the twelfth century. It also hosted the famous fair of Saint Demetrius every October, which was held just outside the city walls and lasted six days. This fair was described as

"the greatest of the fairs held among the Macedonians. It was not just local people who came, but people from all corners of the world: Greeks, Bulgarians, Campanians, Italians, Georgians, Lusitanians, and Celts from beyond the Alps. Its fame reosounded throughout Europe. There were lines of tents opening up into a big square, where merchants did business. It was possible to buy all kinds of cloths from Thebes and the Peloponnese and from Italy; indeed, from Egypt and Spain too. Merchants distributed them to Macedonia and Thessaloniki. The Black Sea sent its own products via Constantinople."

The economic expansion of the city continued through the twelfth century as the strong rule of the Komnenoi emperors expanded Byzantine control into Serbia and Hungary, far to the north. The city is known to have housed an imperial mint at this time, another sign of prosperity.

However, after the death of the emperor Manuel I Komnenos in 1180, the fortunes of the Byzantine Empire began to decline, and in 1185 the Norman rulers of Sicily, under the leadership of Count Baldwin and Riccardo d'Acerra attacked and occupied the city, resulting in considerable destruction. Nevertheless, their rule lasted less that a year, since they were defeated in two battles later that year by the Byzantine army and forced to evacuate the city.

The White Tower of Thessaloniki.

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, covering most of north and central Greece. It was given by the emperor Baldwin I to his rival Boniface of Montferrat but in 1224 it was seized by Theodore Komnenos Doukas, the Greek ruler of Epirus. The city was recovered by the Byzantine Empire in 1246. For the rulers of Thessaloníki in the Middle Ages, see here.

At that time, despite the various invasions, Thessaloniki had a large population and flourishing commerce. That resulted in an intellectual and artistic florescence that can be traced in the numerous churches and their frescoes of that era and also by the names of scholars that taught there. (Thomas Magististos, Dimitrios Triklinios, Nikiforos Choumnos, Kostantinos Armenopoulos, Neilos Kavassilas, etc). Many fine examples of Byzantine art survive in the city, particularly the mosaics in some of its historic churches, including the basilica of Hagia Sophia and the church of St George.

In the 14th century though, the city was appalled by the Zelotes social movement (1342-1349). It began as a religious conflict between bishop Gregorios Palamas, who supported conservative ideas and the monk Barlaam, who introduced progressive social ones. Quickly, it turned into a political commotion, leading to the prevalence of the Zelotes, who for a while ruled the city, applying progressive social policies.

Ottoman era

The Byzantine Empire, unable to hold it against the Ottoman Empire advance, sold it to Venice, who held it until it was captured by the Ottoman ruler Murad II on 29 March 1430, after a three day long siege of the city.

During Ottoman times the city was multicultural with a population made up of Jews (the majority), Turks, Bulgarians, Albanians and Greeks (around one quarter of the total[1]). Of its 130,000 inhabitants at the start of the century, around 60,000 were Sephardic Jews, whose ancestors had been expelled from Spain and Portugal after 1492. Some Romaniotes Jews were also present. Thessaloníki, renamed Selânik, remained in Ottoman hands for the next five centuries and became one of the most important cities in the Empire, being the foremost trade and commercial center in Balkans. The railway reached the city in 1888 and new modern port facilities were built in 1896-1904. The founder of modern Turkey, Kemal Atatürk, was born here in 1881, and the Young Turk movement was headquartered there in the early twentieth century. Selânik first became a sanjak center in Rumeli eyalet between 1393 and 1402 and again 1430 and 1864, after it became a province. Selânik province constituted from sanjaks of Selânik (Thessaloniki), Drama and Serres (Siroz or Serez).

Modern era

Greek soldiers march in Thessaloniki in 1916.

Thessaloniki was the main prize of the First Balkan War of 1912, during which it was captured by Greece on 26 October 1912, which is now a local holiday. King George I of Greece was assassinated during a visit to Thessaloniki on 18 March 1913.

In 1915, during World War I, a large Allied expeditionary force landed at Thessaloniki to use the city as the base for an offensive against pro-German Bulgaria. A pro-Allied temporary government headed by Eleftherios Venizelos was established there, against the will of the pro-neutral King of Greece.

Most of the town was destroyed by a single fire on 5 (OS) /18 August (NS) 1917. The cause is officially unknown. The fire made some 72,000 people homeless out of a population of approximately 271,157 at the time. Venizelos forbade the reconstruction of the town center until a full modern city plan was prepared. This was accomplished a few years later by the French architect and archeologist Ernest Hebrard. The Hebrard plan swept away the Oriental features of Thessaloníki and transformed it to a European style city.

One consequence of the fire saw close to half the city's Jewish population, their homes and livelihoods destroyed, emigrate. Many went to Palestine. Some stepped onto the Orient Express to Paris. Still others found their way to America. Their numbers were quickly replaced by refugees from another disaster a few years after the war, when huge numbers of ethnic Greeks were expelled from Turkey in 1922 following the Greco-Turkish War. The city expanded enormously as a result. It was nicknamed "The Refugee Capital" (I Protévoussa ton Prosfígon) and "Mother of the Poor" (Ftohomána), and even today the city's inhabitants and culture are distinctively Anatolian in character.

Thessaloniki fell to the forces of Nazi Germany on 9 April 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. However, Thessaloniki was rebuilt and recovered fairly quickly after the war. This recovery included a rapid growth of its population, mainly in the 1950s and 1960s. Most of the urban development of that period was, unfortunately, without the proper planning, causing traffic and zoning problems that remain to this day.

At 23:04 (local time) on 20 June 1978, the city was struck by a powerful earthquake registering 6.5R. It caused significant damage to many buildings and lots of its Byzantine monuments, as well as forty five deaths.

Early Christian and Byzantine monuments of Thessaloniki were inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage list in 1988. Thessaloniki became the European City of Culture for 1997.

Thessaloniki is one of the most important university centers in Southeastern Europe with a vibrant student life. The city hosts two universities — the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, the largest university in Greece (founded 1926) and the University of Macedonia, as well as the Technological Education Institute of Thessaloniki.

In June 2003 the Summit meeting of European leaders, at the end of the Greek Presidency of the EU, was hosted at a holiday resort near the city instead of within Thessaloniki itself (as originally planned) due to security concerns. In 2004, the city hosted some of the football events of the 2004 Summer Olympics. Thessaloniki unsuccessfully bid for the 2008 World EXPO but another bid for a future EXPO is under consideration.

Population Data

Population of the Municipality of Thessaloniki.

Year Population Change
1981 406,413 -
1991 383,967 -22,446/-5.52%
2001 363,987 -19,980/-5.20%

Although the population of the Municipality of Thessaloniki (table above) has declined in the last two censuses, the metropolitan area's population is still growing, as people are moving to the suburbs. Today's population of the city's metropolitan area is 1,099,598 (2005).

Mayors of Thessaloniki

  • K. Merkouriou
  • George Seremetis (1943 - 1944)
  • Petros Levis (1944 - 1945)
  • Christos Konstantinou
  • Michalis Papadopoulos
  • Thanasis Giannousis (1982-1983)
  • Theoharis Manavis (1983-1987)
  • Sotiris Kouvelas (1987-1990)
  • Konstantinos Kosmopoulos (1990-1999)
  • Vasilios Papageorgopoulos (1999- )

Economy

Thessaloníki is a major port city [1] and an industrial and commercial center. The city's industries produce refined oil, steel, petrochemicals, textiles, machinery, flour, cement, pharmaceuticals, and liquor. 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.

Festivals

Thessaloniki International Trade Fair

The Thessaloniki International Trade Fair has a long history that dates back to 1926. It is hosted every September for 10 days at the 180,000 m² Thessaloniki International Exhibition Centre, in the heart of the city. It's organised by HELEXPO, which also organises themed exhibitions and congresses throughout the year. The International Trade Fair is inaugurated by the Prime Minister and attended by more than 300,000 visitors every year.

Thessaloniki International Film Festival

Thessaloniki International Film Festival hoarding

The Thessaloniki International Film Festival has become the Balkans' primary showcase for the work of new and emerging filmmakers, as well as the leading film festival in the region. The event features the International Section, the panorama of Greek films, the New Horizons program, the Balkan Survey, and numerous retrospectives and tributes to leading figures in the world of film.

Thessaloniki Documentary Festival

The Thessaloniki Documentary Festival, launched in March 1999, was inspired by Dimitri Eipides. It has benefited from the local public's enthusiastic response -22.000 plus admissions were registered last year (2005)- and from the extensive coverage in the local and international press. The main programme is foccusing on documentaries that explore the social and cultural developments in the world, introducing at the same time a number of new side sections and events based on important works by new documentarists. Films of the main programme will be candidates for the FIPRESCI and also the AUDIENCE AWARDS.

The Festival attracts a film-going public which discovers, year after year, images of the new century, new film ecritures, new directors, new technologies, but also representatives of the film world who find here a reliable organisation, appropriate for promoting their work.The event revolves around the standard sections: stories to tell, views of the world the recording of memory, and portraits but every year's programme is being enriched by several other sections.

The images of 21st Century make a date every March in Thessaloniki with a film-going public that seeks an in-depth reading of the human landscape through a journey into the art of documentary.

Thessaloniki International Festival of Photography

The Thessaloniki International Festival of Photography (Photosynkyria) takes place in Thessaloniki from February to mid-April of every year, attracting the interest both of the photographic world and of the wider public while at the same time functioning as a meeting place for the Greek and the international photographic scene. Photosynkyria exhibitions and events are hosted in a variety of venues around Thessaloniki, such as museums, heritage landmarks, galleries, bookshops and cafes.

Photosynkyria was launched in 1988 by photographer Aris Georgiou and has been organized in the last 5 years by the Thessaloniki Museum of Photography, which annually appoints the artistic director of the festival.

Dimitria

The 3 month long festival of cultural events is held every September-December since 1966. It's named after Aghios Dimitrios (St. Demetrius), that patron Saint of the city, and it has become an institution for the city and very popular with the local population. It includes musical, theatrical, dance events, street happenings and exhibitions. It is organised and overlooked by the Municipality of Thessaloniki [2] and last year it celebrated 40 years of history [3].

Video Dance Festival

The Video Dance Festival started in 2000 at Thessaloniki as an international dance film festival, but soon it widened up to include more kinds of experiment on movement and the moving image.

DMC DJ Championship

The Greek DMC DJ Championship is hosted in Thessaloniki in the International Trade Fair Of Thessaloniki.

DMC’s World DJ Championships, sponsored internationally by Technics and Ortofon, has grown through the years and the formats of the competitions have developed along with the demands. Originally meant to be a DJ mixing battle, DJ Cheese in 1986, introduced scratching in his routine, changing the course of the DMC battles. Since that time, the Technics DMC World Champion title has become the most sought after by aspiring DJs and turntablists worldwide.

The only equipment permitted in Technics DJ Championships worldwide are Technics SL1200 turntables and the Technics EX-DJ1200 mixer. The DJs are allowed a period of exactly six minutes to impress the judges.

Communications

Radio

Main article: List of radio stations in Greece

Television

Main article: List of Greek language television channels

Transportation

Thessaloniki did not have a motorway link until the 1970s. Thessaloniki is accessed with GR-1/E75 from Athens, GR-4, GR-2, (Via Egnatia)/E90 and GR-12/E85 from Serres and Sofia. In the early 1970s, the motorway reached Thessaloniki and was the last section of the GR-1 to be completed. In the 1980s construction begun on the 4-lane bypass of Thessaloniki, which was finally opened to traffic in 1988, running from the west industrial side of the city up to the other side of Thessaloniki to its southeast approaching Thermi and Halkidiki. It has recently been upgraded with new junctions and improved motorway features. The latest motorway expansion was Via Egnatia northwest of Thessaloniki. The construction of the much promised 9.6km long Metro network, will start in June 2006 as was announced by the Minister of Public Works Mr Souflias. Works will last around 6,5 years and when completed in late 2012, it will greatly improve traffic congestion in the city centre. Public transport in Thessaloniki is currently served only by buses [6].

The city is a major railway hub for the Balkans, with direct connections to Sofia, Skopje, Belgrade, Moscow, Vienna, Budapest, Istanbul as well as Athens and other major destinations in Greece.


Air traffic of the city is served by Makedonia Airport with both International and Domestic flights. The short length of the airport's two runways means that it can not support long-haul flights, although there are plans for major expansion.

Sport clubs

  • PAOK FC [7] The most popular club of Thessaloniki and northern Greece, playing in the First Division. (2004-2005: 5th place)
  • Aris FC [8] The club is playing in the First Division. (2004-2005: 14th place)
  • Iraklis FC [9] Historical club that founded in 1908, playing in the First Division. (2005-2006: 4th place)
  • Apollon Kalamarias [10] The pride of the suburban city Kalamaria, First Division. (2004-2005: 12th place)
  • Agrotikos Asteras - third division
  • Epanomi (former ILTEX Lykoi,the clubs were merged) - third division
  • Pavlos Melas FC - third division

Climate

The city experiences a Mediterranean climate. Those north of Thessaloniki experience a Balkan climate, with cold winters.

Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Maximum. [°C] 9 10 13 18 23 28 31 30 26 21 14 10
Minimum temperature [°C] 1 2 5 7 12 16 18 18 15 11 6 2
Rainfall (mm) 40 38 43 35 43 30 22 20 27 45 58 50
Record temperatures [°C] 20 22 25 31 36 39 42 39 36 32 27 26

Twinnings

(in chronological order)

Landmarks

File:Thessaloniki sea front.JPG
The sea front at Thessaloniki with the White Tower in the distance

Museums

Archaeological sites

  • Crypt of Aghios Demetrios
  • Agia Paraskevi, Thessaloniki, archaic cemetery
  • The Ancient Agora of Thessaloniki
  • Monastery of Latomos at Thessaloniki

Hospitals & Medical Centers

Monuments

  • The Arch and Tomb of Galerius

People

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Thessaloniki.

References

  • Apostolos P. Vacalopoulos, A History of Thessaloniki, Institute for Balkan Studies, 1972.
  • Thessaloniki: Tourist guide and street map, A. Kessopoulos, MalliareÌ„s-Paideia, 1988.
  • Mark Mazower, Salonica, City of Ghosts: Christians, Muslims and Jews, 1430-1950, 2004, ISBN 0375412980.
  • 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.
  1. ^ Mark Mazower, Salonica city of Ghosts : Christians, Muslims and Jews, 2005
Preceded by European City of Culture
1997 		Succeeded by

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