(also Salonika), a city and major port in Greece in the Gulf of Salonika of the Aegean Sea; the second largest city in Greece (after Athens) in population and economic importance. Population, 345,800 (1971; Greater Thes-saloniki, 545,000).
The port handles not only Greek cargo but also the cargo of other Balkan states; for example, a special zone has been set aside for Yugoslavia. The port handled 8,700,000 tons of cargo in 1975. Greater Thessaloniki has petrochemical, metallurgical, metalworking, machine-building, and electronics industries, as well as shipbuilding. The city is the country’s principal center of the textile industry. It also has food-processing and tobacco enterprises. Thessaloniki holds annual international fairs in the autumn. The city has a university and an archaeological museum, which includes articles from the classical and early medieval periods.
Thessaloniki was founded in 315 B.C. by Cassander, king of Macedonia. In 148 B.C. it came under Roman rule. After the fall of Rome, the city was second in importance only to Constantinople. The Slavic educators Cyril and Methodius were from Thessaloniki. In 1204 the city became the capital of the Latin Thessalonian state. In 1224 it became the center of the Thessa-lonian Empire, in 1246, part of the Nicaean Empire, and in 1261, part of the Byzantine Empire. Thessaloniki was captured by the Turks in 1387 and restored to the Byzantine Empire in 1402. In 1430 it became part of the Ottoman Empire. After the Balkan Wars of 1912–13, Thessaloniki was ceded to Greece. In April 1941 the city was captured by fascist Germany; it was liberated in October 1944 by the Greek National Popular Liberation Army.
Still preserved in Thessaloniki are remains of an ancient Roman palace group dating from the early fourth century, including the Arch of Galerius, and citadel walls and towers dating from the end of the fourth century. Thessaloniki has many landmarks of medieval architecture. Dominating the city are a fortress with towers dating from the 14th century and a castle, crowned by the White Tower, dating from the 15th century. Byzantine churches include the churches of St. George (rebuilt at the end of the fourth century from an ancient Roman vaulted structure, with mosaics from the end of the fourth century) and St. Demetrius (fifth to seventh centuries; restored after damage suffered in 1917, 1918–39, and 1945–49; mosaics from the seventh century and frescoes from the tenth through 14th centuries). Two other Byzantine churches are the Basilica of Hagia Sophia (717–741, with mosaics from the ninth century and frescoes from the 11th century) and the Church of the Holy Apostles (1312–15, with frescoes and mosaics from circa 1315). Contemporary structures include the fair complexes (1950’s) and the university (1960’s, architects K. Karandinos and others).