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Thessaloniki is the second largest city in Greece. It was founded in 316 BC by Macedonian king Cassandros on the site of a prehistoric settlement that dated from 2300 BC. The city was named after Cassandros' wife, who was the sister of Alexander the Great, and became the capital of the kingdom. During the Roman era, Thessaloniki boasted the largest port of the area and stood at the intersection of the east-west Egnatia way and the north-south road that linked the southern Greek cities to the Balkans and Europe. The city was the second most important population center, after Constantinople, during both the Byzantine and the Ottoman Empires.
The architectural face of Thessaloniki was always an interesting and special case because it was in constant flux due to the city's position at the center of all historical developments in the Balkans. Besides its commercial importance, Thessaloniki was, for many centuries, the military and administrative hub of the region, and also the transportation link between Europe and the Levante.
The city layout changed after 1870, when the seaside fortifications gave way to extensive piers. During the following 47 years, a period of great economic growth, the city's population exploded by 70%, reaching 135 thousand in 1917. The city became a commercial attraction for economic refugees, businessmen and traders from across Europe, including many Jews. The authorities tore down part of the city's Byzantine fortifications to allow it to expand, which it did, to the east and the west, along the coast.
The need for commercial and public buildings in that new era of prosperity led to a marked shift in architectural direction and led to the construction of large edifices in the city center in lots formerly occupied by small, shabby one-family homes. During this time, Thessaloniki saw the building of banks, large hotels, theaters, warehouses, and factories.
The expansion of Eleftherias Square (today's Venizelou Square) to the sea completed the new commercial center of the city. The rest of the city's neighborhoods, within the old fortifications, remained unchanged. The western districts were the working class section, near the factories, and Thessalonikis' new industrial activity. The middle and upper classes moved east of the city and built a new suburb, then known as "Exohes", or "country retreats". The new district soon acquired schools, public buildings and also some manufacturing plants. Today, the city's most important public buildings are to be found between the historic center and those eastern suburbs, next to the White Tower.
The most important year in the city's history was 1917, a landmark year that shaped Thessaloniki into its present form. The devastating fire that swept through the city that year and burned uncontrollably for 32 hours, destroyed the city's historic center and a large part of its architectural heritage. Many buildings of rare beauty were completely demolished.
The city that was designed between 1917 and 1950 was a modern and functional urban center whose layout and feel had little in common with what preceded it. The team of architects and urban planners that designed the new Thessaloniki was led by Ernesr Hebrard, a french architect. The team chose the Byzantine era as the basis for their designs of the buildings that would adorn the new city. The new city plan included axes, diagonal streets and monumental squares, with a street grid that would channel traffic smoothly.
The plan of 1917 included provisions for the future population explosion and and an adequate street and road network that would have been sufficient even today. It contained sites for public and important buildings, the restoration of important Byzantine churches and landmarks and Ottoman mosques, whereas the whole of the Upper City, near the fortifications, was declared a heritage site. The plan also included a site for the campus of the future University of Thessaloniki, which was never realized, although today's University campus incorporates some of Hebrard's ideas.
An important element of the plan was to achieve a fine balance between contemporary urban planning and architectural ideas and the city's rich tradition and history. The main feature of all proposed buildings was the perfect symmetry of all sides and the emphasis on the center of each.
The plan also included provisions for the building of an administrative center with the city hall, the courts building and a series of secondary buildings to house all other civic functions. Unfortunately, those plans were never implemented and the city lacks an administrative district to this day. Nevertheless, this part of the plan influenced a lot of building and planning decisions throughout the 20th century, with the inevitable adaptations to service the population explosion of the last 50 years.
Although Thessaloniki is one of the most attractive cities in Greece and quite interesting for the student of architecture, today it bursts at the seams and presents its residents with a full menu of modern urban inconveniences. Traffic is the most important problem, with new car registrations increasing by about 20 thousand annually, and the volume of cars quintupling in the last 15 years. Thessaloniki is the only urban center in Europe that is served by only one mode of public transportation; buses. In addition, the city center has almost no public parking.
The city's look today is almost completely removed from its traditional past and the advent of new popular districts, e.g. for nighlife and shopping, make moving through the city a nightmare.The city center is dominated by nondescript, and even ugly, apartment blocks, public parks and spaces are few and far in-between and the few pedestrian ways often serve as parking lots and garbage dumping points. The city is currently planning a subway line and new roads and avenues, in an effort to decongest the city center.
Thessaloniki is not a problem-free city. Nevertheless, its history, traditions and traces of its architectural past make it a vibrant and interesting city.
