1-12-2008 COMENIUS 1-12-2008 COMENIUS Named after the sister of Alexander the Great, Thessaloniki, a city of rich history, awaits visitors.
Download ReportTranscript 1-12-2008 COMENIUS 1-12-2008 COMENIUS Named after the sister of Alexander the Great, Thessaloniki, a city of rich history, awaits visitors.
1-12-2008 COMENIUS 2 1-12-2008 COMENIUS 3 Named after the sister of Alexander the Great, Thessaloniki, a city of rich history, awaits visitors. Sometimes covered by the dense fog seen in the films of Theodoros Angelopoulos and sometimes swept by the strong Vardaris wind, usually sunlit and warm, it always remains ready to show you thousands of faces: the ancient heritage, the Roman traits, the Byzantine buildings, the influence of the Balkans and the Mediterranean touch. 1-12-2008 COMENIUS 4 The Most Important stages in Thessaloniki’s History 316 BC Hellenistic era. The city is established by King Kassander Alexander’s Statue, Archaeological Museum, Vergina, 168 BC Thessaloniki becomes capital of the Roman prefecture of Macedonia Roman Forum, Galerian Complex 303-1430 Byzantine Era Byzantine Museum, City Walls, Christian Churches 1430-1912 Ottoman Occupation: a city of three religions Bezesteni, Turkish Baths 1912: Liberation under Prime Minister Eleftherios Venizelos Statue of Venizelos 1914 First World War (by the side of Entente) Harbor (served the Allies in the war) 1917 ‘Fire of the Century’ Aristotelus square (Ernest Ebrar) 1923 Treaty of Lausanne decides exchange of populations between Turkey and Greece. The face of the city changes Ladadika 1-12-2008 COMENIUS 5 1925 Establishment of HELEXPO Zoggolopoulos Statue, Varotsos Statue 1926 Establishment of Aristotelean University of Greece Campus 1936 The strike of the tobacco factory workers inspires revolutionaries and artists Statue of tobacco factory worker 1941 The city surrenders to Germany Yenti Koule (site of executions) 1943 Thousands of Jews are exterminated. The city changes yet again. Jewish Museum 1944 Thessaloniki liberated by ELAS 1946-49 Civil War 1963 Assassination of Member of Parliament and supporter of peace Gregory Lambrakis Lambrakis Monument 1967-74 Dictatorship 1978 Earthquake City Center 1997 Thessaloniki becomes cultural capital of Europe Concert Hall, Umbrella’s Monument, State Museum of Contemporary Art 1-12-2008 COMENIUS 6 Hellenistic era. (2.000 B.C.-168 B.C.) 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"). 1-12-2008 COMENIUS 7 Archaeological Museum 1-12-2008 COMENIUS 8 The Roman Empire (148 B.C.-313 A.C.) 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. 1-12-2008 COMENIUS 9 Rotunda 1-12-2008 COMENIUS 10 Galerius Arch 1-12-2008 COMENIUS 11 Galerius’ Palace 1-12-2008 COMENIUS 12 Roman Forum 1-12-2008 COMENIUS 13 Byzantine Era (313-1430) 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 1-12-2008 COMENIUS 14 City Walls 1-12-2008 COMENIUS 15 Byzantine Museum 1-12-2008 COMENIUS 16 Temple of St Sophia 1-12-2008 COMENIUS 17 Panayia Chalkeon (Our Lady of Copper) 1-12-2008 COMENIUS 18 St Demetrius 1-12-2008 COMENIUS 19 Ottoman Occupation (1430-1912) 1-12-2008 COMENIUS 20 When Thessaloniki fell to the Ottoman hands in 1430 it was a damaged, empty city. Efforts were made for it to continue as an important commercial port, as it was during the Byzantine empire. The surviving monuments give a complete picture of the historical period of 500 years of the city that followed the Byzantine period. The older building that survives from this period is the Bei Hamam, known as bathrooms «Paradise». Located in the Egnatia highway towards Our Lady of Copper (Panayia Chalkeon). The Bezesteni was built 25 years later. It was place of transactions, negotiations, storage of valuable goods and trade 1-12-2008 COMENIUS 21 Turkish Baths «Paradise». 1-12-2008 COMENIUS 22 Bezesteni 1-12-2008 COMENIUS 23 History of Contemporary Thessaloniki (1912 -Today) 1-12-2008 COMENIUS 24 1912: Liberation under Prime Minister Eleftherios Venizelos 1-12-2008 COMENIUS 25 1914 First World War (by the side of Entente) 1-12-2008 COMENIUS 26 1917 ‘Fire of the Century’ Most of the old town was destroyed by a single fire on 18 August 1917, which was accidentally sparked by French soldiers in encampments at the city. 1-12-2008 COMENIUS 27 Aristotelus Square 1-12-2008 COMENIUS 28 1923 Treaty of Lausanne decides exchange of populations between Turkey and Greece. The face of the city changes 1-12-2008 COMENIUS 29 Ladadika 1-12-2008 COMENIUS 30 1-12-2008 COMENIUS 31 1925 Establishment of HELEXPO 1-12-2008 COMENIUS 32 1926 Establishment of Aristotelean University of Greece 1-12-2008 COMENIUS 33 1936 The strike of the tobacco factory workers inspires revolutionaries and artists 1-12-2008 COMENIUS 34 Monument of tobacco factory worker 1-12-2008 COMENIUS 35 1941 The city surrenders to Germany Thessaloniki fell to the forces of Nazi Germany on April 22, 1941, and remained under German occupation until 30 October, 1944. 1-12-2008 COMENIUS 36 Yenti Koule – Place of execution for freedom fighters during the German Occupation 1-12-2008 COMENIUS 37 The upper City (Ano poli) 1-12-2008 COMENIUS 38 1943 Thousands of Jews are exterminated. The city changes yet again. 1-12-2008 COMENIUS 39 Jewish Monument 1-12-2008 COMENIUS 40 1-12-2008 COMENIUS 41 1963 Assassination of Member of Parliament and supporter of peace Gregory Lambrakis 1-12-2008 COMENIUS 42 Lambrakis Monument 1-12-2008 COMENIUS 43 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 1-12-2008 COMENIUS 44 1997 Thessaloniki becomes cultural capital of Europe 1-12-2008 COMENIUS 45 Concert Hall Umbrella’s Monument State Museum of Contemporary Art 1-12-2008 COMENIUS 46 Thessaloniki City of thousands of faces 1-12-2008 COMENIUS 47 1-12-2008 COMENIUS 48 1-12-2008 COMENIUS 49 1-12-2008 COMENIUS 50 1-12-2008 COMENIUS 51 1-12-2008 COMENIUS 52