58 Facts About Thessaloniki

Thessaloniki, known as Thessalonica, Saloniki or Salonica is the second-largest city in Greece, with over one million inhabitants in its metropolitan area, and the capital of the geographic region of Macedonia, the administrative region of Central Macedonia and the Decentralized Administration of Macedonia and Thrace.

Thessaloniki is located on the Thermaic Gulf, at the northwest corner of the Aegean Sea.

An important metropolis by the Roman period, Thessaloniki was the second largest and wealthiest city of the Byzantine Empire.

Thessaloniki was revived as the city's official name in 1912, when it joined the Kingdom of Greece during the Balkan Wars.

Thessaloniki named it after his wife Thessalonike, a half-sister of Alexander the Great and princess of Macedonia as daughter of Philip II.

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Thessaloniki lays at the southern end of the main north–south route through the Balkans along the valleys of the Morava and Axios river valleys, thereby linking the Balkans with the rest of Greece.

In 306 AD, Thessaloniki acquired a patron saint, St Demetrius, a Christian whom Galerius is said to have put to death.

In 379, when the Roman Prefecture of Illyricum was divided between the East and West Roman Empires, Thessaloniki became the capital of the new Prefecture of Illyricum.

Thessaloniki passed out of Byzantine hands in 1204, when Constantinople was captured by the forces of the Fourth Crusade and incorporated the city and its surrounding territories in the Kingdom of Thessalonica — which then became the largest vassal of the Latin Empire.

When Sultan Murad II captured Thessaloniki and sacked it in 1430, contemporary reports estimated that about one-fifth of the city's population was enslaved.

Thessaloniki's importance was mostly in the field of shipping, but in manufacturing, while most of the city's trade was controlled by Jewish.

Thessaloniki was the capital of the Sanjak of Selanik within the wider Rumeli Eyalet until 1826, and subsequently the capital of Selanik Eyalet .

Thessaloniki was a Janissary stronghold where novice Janissaries were trained.

In 1903, an anarchist group known as the Boatmen of Thessaloniki planted bombs in several buildings in Thessaloniki, including the Ottoman Bank, with some assistance from the IMRO.

The Greek consulate in Ottoman Thessaloniki served as the center of operations for the Greek guerillas.

Thessaloniki was the center of activities of the Young Turks, a political reform movement, which goal was to replace the Ottoman Empire's absolute monarchy with a constitutional government.

Turkey's first president Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, who was born and raised in Thessaloniki, was a member of the Young Turks in his soldier days and partook in the Young Turk Revolution.

The State of Thessaloniki was disestablished with the unification of the two opposing Greek governments under Venizelos, following the abdication of King Constantine in 1917.

On 30 December 1915 an Austrian air raid on Thessaloniki alarmed many town civilians and killed at least one person, and in response the Allied troops based there arrested the German, Austrian, Bulgarian and Turkish vice-consuls and their families and dependents and put them on a battleship, and billeted troops in their consulate buildings in Thessaloniki.

Many of its architectural treasures still remain, adding value to the city as a tourist destination, while several early Christian and Byzantine monuments of Thessaloniki were added to the UNESCO World Heritage list in 1988.

In 1997, Thessaloniki was celebrated as the European Capital of Culture, sponsoring events across the city and the region.

Today, Thessaloniki has become one of the most important trade and business hubs in Southeastern Europe, with its port, the Port of Thessaloniki being one of the largest in the Aegean and facilitating trade throughout the Balkan hinterland.

One apartment building in central Thessaloniki collapsed during the second earthquake, killing many, raising the final death toll to 51.

Thessaloniki's climate is directly affected by the Aegean Sea, on which it is situated.

Architecture in Thessaloniki is the direct result of the city's position at the centre of all historical developments in the Balkans.

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Northwestern Thessaloniki is home to Moni Lazariston, located in Stavroupoli, which today forms one of the most important cultural centers for the city, including MOMus–Museum of Modern Art–Costakis Collection and two theatres of the National Theatre of Northern Greece.

In northwestern Thessaloniki exist many cultural premises such as the open-air Theater Manos Katrakis in Sykies, the Museum of Refugee Hellenism in Neapolis, the municipal theater and the open-air theater in Neapoli and the New Cultural Center of Menemeni .

Municipality of Kalamaria is located in southeastern Thessaloniki and was firstly inhabited mainly by Greek refugees from Asia Minor and East Thrace after 1922.

The evolution of Imperial Byzantine architecture and the prosperity of Thessaloniki go hand in hand, especially during the first years of the Empire, when the city continued to flourish.

Thessaloniki has more UNESCO World Heritage Sites listed than any other city in Greece, a total of 15 monuments.

Thessaloniki rose to economic prominence as a major economic hub in the Balkans during the years of the Roman Empire.

City's port, the Port of Thessaloniki, is one of the largest ports in the Aegean and as a free port, it functions as a major gateway to the Balkan hinterland.

In recent years Thessaloniki has begun to turn into a major port for cruising in the eastern Mediterranean.

The Greek ministry of tourism considers Thessaloniki to be Greece's second most important commercial port, and companies such as Royal Caribbean International have expressed interest in adding the Port of Thessaloniki to their destinations.

However, Thessaloniki still remains a major business hub in the Balkans and Greece, with a number of important Greek companies headquartered in the city, such as the Hellenic Vehicle Industry, Namco, Astra Airlines, Ellinair, Pyramis and MLS Multimedia, which introduced the first Greek-built smartphone in 2012.

When Paul the Apostle came in Thessaloniki he taught in the area of what today is called Upper City.

Thessaloniki became the largest center in Europe of the Sephardic Jews, who nicknamed the city la madre de Israel and "Jerusalem of the Balkans".

Many Jewish inhabitants of Thessaloniki spoke Judeo-Spanish, the Romance language of the Sephardic Jews.

In 1943, the Nazis began brutal actions against the historic Jewish population in Thessaloniki, forcing them into a ghetto near the railroad lines and beginning deportation to concentration and labor camps.

Thessaloniki is regarded not only as the cultural and entertainment capital of northern Greece but the cultural capital of the country as a whole.

Thessaloniki is renowned for its major shopping streets and lively laneways.

Archaeological Museum of Thessaloniki was established in 1962 and houses some of the most important ancient Macedonian artifacts, including an extensive collection of golden artwork from the royal palaces of Aigai and Pella.

Ataturk Museum in Thessaloniki is the historic house where Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, founder of modern-day Turkey, was born.

The Teloglion Foundation of Art is part of Aristotle University of Thessaloniki and includes an extensive collection of works by important artists of the 19th and 20th centuries, including works by prominent Greeks and native Thessalonians.

Thessaloniki is home to a number of prominent archaeological sites.

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The "DMC DJ Championship" has been hosted at the International Trade Fair of Thessaloniki, has become a worldwide event for aspiring DJs and turntablists.

The city's Greek Orthodox Church leadership has consistently rallied against the event, but mayor Boutaris sided with Thessaloniki Pride, saying that Thessaloniki would seek to host EuroPride 2020.

Thessaloniki has a rich sporting history with its teams winning the first ever panhellenic football, basketball, and water polo tournaments.

In October 2007, Thessaloniki played host to the first Southeastern European Games.

Thessaloniki is home to the ERT3 TV-channel and Radio Macedonia, both services of Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation operating in the city and are broadcast all over Greece.

The municipality of Thessaloniki operates three radio stations, namely FM100, FM101 and FM100.

Thessaloniki remained under Ottoman rule for about 100 years more than southern Greece, it has retained a lot of its Eastern character, including its culinary tastes.

Thessaloniki's Ladadika borough is a particularly busy area in regards to Thessalonian cuisine, with most tavernas serving traditional meze and other such culinary delights.

Thessaloniki is known as "the city that never sleeps" and a "party capital" due to its thriving nightlife, young atmosphere and famous 24-hour culture.

Additionally, a TEI, namely the Alexander Technological Educational Institute of Thessaloniki, is located in the western suburb of Sindos; home to the industrial zone of the city.

Creation of a metro system for Thessaloniki goes back as far as 1918, when Thomas Hayton Mawson and Ernest Hebrard proposed the creation of a Thessaloniki Metropolitan Railway.

Thessaloniki remains one of Greece's most important railway hubs and has the biggest marshalling yard in the country.

Meanwhile, ongoing actions have been going on for more connections and the port is recently being upgraded, as Thessaloniki is slowly turning into a major tourist port for cruising in the eastern Mediterranean.