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Thessaloniki, GreeceThessaloniki is the capital of Macedonia. Greece's second largest city is fast becoming the powerhouse of the Balkans.
The main arterial of the City are Egnatia which carries a daily traffic of about 110,000 vehicles. Other main arterials are Tsimisky, Vas. Olgas, Nikis with the range of daily traffic from 60,000 to 80,000 vehicles. History
Thessaloniki, is one of the oldest cities in Europe.It was founded about 315 B.C., on a
site of old prehistoric settlements going back to 2300 B.C., by Cassander,
King of Macedonia, and was named after his wife, Thessaloniki, sister of
Alexander The Great. Since then, Thessaloniki has become the chief city of
Macedonia and its most important commercial port. In Roman times it was
visited by Saint Paul, who preached the new religion, and who later
addressed his two well-known epistles (the oldest written documents of
Christian literature) to the Christians of Thessaloniki. In Byzantine
times, Thessaloniki became a cultural and artistic centre second only to
Constantinople in the whole empire. Great names are closely associated
with the city's Byzantine past - the jurist Peter Magister, the
epigrammatist Macedonius Hypatus, the Hymnographer Archbishop Joseph, Leo
the Mathematician, the historian John Cameniates, the prolific Homeric
scholar and humanist Eustathius ( Archbishop of Thessaloniki), the
philologist Thomas M. Magister, the teacher of law and editor of the
"Hexabiblus" Constantine Armenopoulos, the theologian Gregory
Palamas ( Archbishop of Thessaloniki), to mention but a few prominent
scholars. The missionary brothers Cyril and Methodius also have a special
place in the history of the period; they invented and used the Cyrillic
Alphabet to bring literacy and Christianity to the Slavs.
Culture
Characteristic features of the flourishing economy of Thessaloniki, which has developed into one of the most important commercial and communication centres in the Mediterranean, are its port (which through its 'Free Zone' also serves other Balkan cities), its international airport, the industrial area and the Intennational Trade Fair (Helexpo). The Monuments of Thessaloniki: Numerous archaeological testimonials to the city's historic past have been saved, including the remains of prehistoric settlements in the area of Thessaloniki - the first organised settlements date back to the middle of the fifth millenium B.C.-which provide valuable architectural and archeological information about the civilisations of that time.
Because of its cultural, historical and economic features, Thessaloniki was chosen as the Cultural Capital of Europe in 1997. Links
Images of Thessaloniki
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The population of the city of Thessaloniki with the suburbs is 1048151
(NSSG,2001) with about 500000 of them living in the center of the city.
The city (Geographic latitude: 40° 39´N, Geographic longitude: 23°
07´E, Altitude: 2 m) is surrounded by the Thermaikos gulf from one
side and the mountains from other side which gave the city a longitudinal
shape with traffic volume coming from the East and West sides of the city.
It is also for this reason, the traffic network system is built to serve
East West traffic volumes with traffic management focusing on one-way
control of main arterials of the city.
After the fall of Thessaloniki (1430) and later of Constantinople (1453), the
two major cultural centres of the East, two of Thessaloniki's greatest
humanists, Theodore Gazes and Andronicus Callistus, sought refuge in the
West where they transplanted the Greek language and literature. Despite
the unfavourable conditions prevailing during the Turkish occupation,
there were Greek schools in Thessaloniki that struggled, successfully to a
large degree, to preserve the Greek language and literature until the city
was liberated in October 26, 1912, the anniversary of its patron saint,
St. Demetrius. In the nineteenth century the long scholarly tradition of
the city was continued by Margaritis Demetsas, a historian, archeologist,
and geographer as well as headmaster of the city Grammar School and his
pupil P. Papageorgiou, later a prominent philologist. Today Thessaloniki
is a thriving city and one of the most important trade and communications
centres in the Mediterranean. This is evident from its financial and
commercial activities, its port with its special Free Zone, which provides
facilities to the other Balkan countries, its international airport, its
important industrial complex, its annual International Trade Fair, etc.
Many other institutions besides the University have contributed to the
development of the wider intellectual climate in Thessaloniki: the Higher
School of Industry; the Archaeological, Ethnological and Folklore Museum;
the Macedonian Struggle Museum; the White Tower collection; the Society
for Macedonian Studies; the Institute of Balkan Studies; the State
Theatre; the State Orchestra; the Municipal Art Gallery; the 'Vafopoulio'
Cultural Centre; the Municipal Orchestra; the Macedonian Museum of Modern
Art, and numerous other cultural societies, as well as established
festivals such as the 'Demetria', the International Music Days, the Film
Festival, and so on.
The most impressive of the ancient monuments of Thessaloniki, however, are
those of the Roman and Byzantine periods. Indeed, the Byzantine monuments
of Thessaloniki have made it the second best preserved Byzantine city in
the world. Besides the impressive exhibits in the Archaeological Museum
(excavated units and individual items from Prehistoric to Roman times) and
in the White Tower (from pre-Christian times to the end of the Byzantine
Empire) as well as the exhibition in the Crypt of Sainl Demetrius, one can
also see the remains of the Roman market and of the Roman Palace of
Galerius in the centre of the city, and parts of the ancient walls and the
Acropolis (Seven Towers) in the old town. Many renowned Byzantine
churches, which date back from the 5th Century to the 14th Century, have
also survived (among them the Acheiropiitos, Saint Demetrius, Saint Sofia,
St. David, etc. ) as well as the landmark of the city, the White Tower,
and many post-Byzantine monuments.
