Thessaloniki

Thessaloniki

Thessaloniki city and dímos on the western Chalcidice peninsula, located at the head of a bay of the Gulf of Thérmai. It is the second most important economic, industrial, commercial and political center of Greece and a major transport hub for Greece and Southeast Europe, especially through the port of Thessaloniki. The city is famous for its festivals, events and generally vibrant cultural life, and is regarded as the cultural capital of Greece. In 315 BC, the city was founded by the Cassander of Macedon, and was named after his wife, Thessalonike, who was Philip II of Macedon's daughter and Alexander the Great's sister. By Roman times, Thessaloniki had become an important metropolis and became the second biggest and richest city in the Byzantine Empire. The Ottomans conquered the city in 1430, and it continued to be an important seaport and multi-ethnic metropolis for nearly five centuries of Turkish rule, and from the 16th century to the 20th century it was Europe's only Jewish-majority city. From the Ottoman Empire, it became part of the Kingdom of Greece on 8 November 1912. Thessaloniki features Byzantine architecture, among them many Paleochristian and Byzantine monuments, a World Heritage Site, and many Roman, Ottoman and Sephardic Jewish buildings. Due to the city's rich and varied history, Thessaloniki is home to a number of museums dedicated to different periods of history. The two most famous museums in the city are the Archaeological Museum of Thessaloniki and the Museum of Byzantine Culture.