Salonika is the second-largest city of Greece and the capital of the Greek region of Macedonia. Salonika is also the capital of the Thessaloniki prefecture and the capital of the EU region (or, synonymously, Greek periphery) of Central Macedonia.
Salonika area that stretches along a bay of the Thermaic Gulf for approximately 17 km is comprised of a total of 13 municipalities and has a population of approximately 800,000. Salonika has a population of 363,987 , in 2001.
Salonika is a thriving, vibrant city and its commercial port is of a strategic importance for Greece. Salonika is a major economic, industrial, commercial and cultural center as well as a transportation hub in southeastern Europe. Salonika hosts a large student population and it is widely renowned for its large number
of monuments of Byzantine architecture as well as its eminent nightlife.
As Salonika's population grows at a steady rate so does the emergence of such problems as traffic congestion and a lack of a sufficient number of parking lots. The construction of a subway line that will stretch along the central districts will begin in May 2006 and is expected to be completed by 2013. This major project along with the construction of an undersea tunnel that will connect the port and the Macedonia Palace Hotel area will significantly improve the forementioned predicaments.
Salonika was the main prize of the First Balkan War of 1912, during which it was captured by Greece on 26 October 1912, which is now a local holiday. King George I of Greece was assassinated during a visit to Thessaloniki on 18 March 1913.
In 1915, during World War I, a large Allied expeditionary force landed at Thessaloniki to use the city as the base for an offensive against pro-German Bulgaria. A pro-Allied temporary government headed by Eleftherios Venizelos was established there, against the will of the pro-neutral King of Greece.
Most of Salonika was destroyed by a single fire on 5 (OS) /18 August (NS) 1917. The cause is officially unknown. The fire made some 72000 people homeless out of a population of approximately 271.157 at the time. Venizelos forbade the reconstruction of the town center until a full modern city plan was prepared. This was accomplished a few years later by the French architect and archeologist Ernest Hebrard. The Hebrard plan swept away the Oriental features of Thessaloníki and transformed it to a European style city.
Economy :
Salonika is a major port city and an industrial and commercial center. The city's industries produce refined oil, steel, petrochemicals, textiles, machinery, flour, cement, pharmaceuticals, and liquor. Salonika is also a major transportation hub for the whole of southeastern Europe, carrying, among other things, trade to and from the newly capitalist countries of the region.
Salonika Transport :
Salonika did not have a motorway link until the 1970s. Salonika is accessed with GR-1/E75 from Athens, GR-4, GR-2, (Via Egnatia)/E90 and GR-12/E85 from Serres and Sofia. In the early 1970s, the motorway reached Salonika and was the last section of the GR-1 to be completed. In the 1980s construction begun on the 4-lane bypass of Salonika , which was finally opened to traffic in 1988, running from the west industrial side of the city up to the other side of Thessaloniki to its southeast approaching Thermi and Halkidiki. It has recently been upgraded with new junctions and improved motorway features. The latest motorway expansion was Via Egnatia northwest of Salonika. The construction of the much promised 9.5km long Metro network, will start in May 2006 as was announced by the Minister of Public Works Mr Souflias. Works will last around 6,5 years and when completed in 2012, it will greatly improve traffic congestion in the city centre. Public transport in Salonika is currently served only by buses.
Salonika is a major railway hub for the Balkans, with direct connections to Sofia, Skopje, Belgrade, Moscow, Vienna, Budapest, Istanbul as well as Athens and other major destinations in Greece.
Air traffic of Salonika is served by Makedonia Airport with both International and Domestic flights. The short lenght of the airport's two runways means that it can not support long-haul flights, although there are plans for major expansion.
Twin Cities :
Hartford, Connecticut, United States, since May 5, 1962
Plovdiv, Bulgaria, since February 27, 1984
Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, since March 19, 1984
Limassol, Cyprus, since June 30, 1984
Leipzig, Saxony, Germany, since October 10, 1984
Bologna, Emilia-Romagna, Italy, since October 20, 1984
Bratislava, Slovakia, since April 23, 1986
Cologne, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, since May 3, 1988
Constanta, Romania, since July 5, 1988
San Francisco, California, United States, since August 6, 1990
Nice, Provence-Alpes-Cote d'Azur, France, since March 20, 1992
Alexandria, Egypt, since July 12, 1993
Tel Aviv, Israel, since November 24, 1994
Museums :
Jewish Museum of Thessaloniki (Museo Djudio de Salonik)
State Museum of Contemporary Art, Thessaloniki housing an important collection of 1275 Russian avant-garde works of art, collected by George Costakis
Macedonia-Thrace Folklore and Ethnological Museum, housed in the G. Modiano Mansion
Museum of Byzantine Culture
Thessaloniki Archaeological Museum
Thessaloniki Cinema Museum
Thessaloniki Museum of the Macedonian Struggle
Thessaloniki Sports Museum
Water Museum of Thessaloniki
White Tower of Thessaloniki, museum and monument
Thessaloniki Science Center and Technology Museum
Thessaloniki Museum of Photograpy
Teloglion Foundation of Art
Famous People :
Saint Cyril and Saint Methodius, creators of the Slavic Alphabet
Manolis Anagnostakis, doctor and leftist writer
Pavle Savic, Serbian physicist
Stavros Koujioumtzis (1932-2005), Greek music composer & lyricist
Dionysis Savvopoulos (b. December 2, 1944), a Greek music composer, lyricist and singer
Arif Hikmet (died 1978), Turkish architect
Stratos Dionysiou (died 1990), popular singer
Zoe Laskari (b.1938), Greek actress
Marinella (b. May 20, 1935), popular singer
Kostas Voutsas (b.1930), Greek actor & comedian
Calliope Tatti (1897 - 1978)
Mustafa Kemal Atatürk (1881 - 1938), politician, founder of the Republic of Turkey
Pavlos Danelatos Theatre director
Salih Omurtak (1889 - 1954) Turkish general This article is licensed under the [GNU Free Documentation License]. It uses material from Wikipedia
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Salonika is the second-largest city of Greece and the capital of the Greek region of Macedonia. Salonika is also the capital of the Thessaloniki prefecture and the capital of the EU region (or, synonymously, Greek periphery) of Central Macedonia.