Thessaloniki

Thessaloniki , also known as Thessalonica (/ˌθɛsələˈnaɪkə, ˌθɛsəˈlɒnɪkə/), Saloniki, Salonika, or Salonica (/səˈlɒnɪkə, ˌsæləˈniːkə/), is the second-largest city in <a href="/facts/Greece/lqHw8bTB">Greece</a> (with slightly over one million inhabitants in its <a href="/facts/Thessaloniki_metropolitan_area/X21lSFzy">metropolitan area</a>) and the <a href="/facts/Capital_city/p06rGdJC">capital</a> of the <a href="/facts/Geographic_regions_of_Greece/LKypBN8n">geographic region</a> of <a href="/facts/Macedonia_(Greece)/4VaoTIHa">Macedonia</a>, the <a href="/facts/Administrative_regions_of_Greece/2rm5ofKo">administrative region</a> of <a href="/facts/Central_Macedonia/JIIq1MDn">Central Macedonia</a> and the <a href="/facts/Decentralized_Administration_of_Macedonia_and_Thrace/uE3sAR3j">Decentralized Administration of Macedonia and Thrace</a>. It is also known in Greek as i Symprotévousa, literally "the co-capital", a reference to its historical status as the "co-reigning" city (Symvasilévousa) of the <a href="/facts/Byzantine_Empire/njEELXWF">Byzantine Empire</a> alongside <a href="/facts/Constantinople/fLcY371n">Constantinople</a>.
Thessaloniki is located on the <a href="/facts/Thermaic_Gulf/1Job0I5M">Thermaic Gulf</a>, at the northwest corner of the <a href="/facts/Aegean_Sea/Vx4Gg5CT">Aegean Sea</a>. It is bounded on the west by the <a href="/facts/Axios_Delta_National_Park/uSWHv3qs">delta of the Axios</a>. The <a href="/facts/Thessaloniki_(municipality)/qhvMnv9q">municipality of Thessaloniki</a>, the historical centre, had a population of 319,045 in 2021, while the <a href="/facts/Thessaloniki_metropolitan_area/X21lSFzy">Thessaloniki metropolitan area</a> had 1,006,112 inhabitants and the <a href="/facts/Thessaloniki_(regional_unit)/gBkYaGGh">greater region</a> had 1,092,919. It is Greece's second major economic, industrial, commercial and political centre, and a major transportation hub for Greece and southeastern Europe, notably through the <a href="/facts/Port_of_Thessaloniki/YbrQScxB">Port of Thessaloniki</a>. The city is renowned for its festivals, events and vibrant cultural life in general. Events such as the <a href="/facts/Thessaloniki_International_Fair/HtxCCj5v">Thessaloniki International Fair</a> and the <a href="/facts/Thessaloniki_International_Film_Festival/yMb63XUg">Thessaloniki International Film Festival</a> are held annually. Thessaloniki was the 2014 <a href="/facts/European_Youth_Capital/MvomJXH8">European Youth Capital</a>. The city's main university, <a href="/facts/Aristotle_University/U80tMc9x">Aristotle University</a>, is the largest in Greece and the <a href="/facts/Balkans/5Hy8ly0d">Balkans</a>.
The city was founded in 315 BC by <a href="/facts/Cassander/rHgyFKo4">Cassander of Macedon</a>, who named it after his wife <a href="/facts/Thessalonike_of_Macedon/1zURNHwo">Thessalonike</a>, daughter of <a href="/facts/Philip_II_of_Macedon/8xV3hI8V">Philip II of Macedon</a> and sister of <a href="/facts/Alexander_the_Great/8N3gLElj">Alexander the Great</a>. It was built 40 km southeast of <a href="/facts/Pella/xdak9cAr">Pella</a>, the capital of the <a href="/facts/Kingdom_of_Macedonia/g0F1DEgc">Kingdom of Macedonia</a>. An important metropolis by the Roman period, Thessaloniki was the second largest and wealthiest city of the <a href="/facts/Byzantine_Empire/njEELXWF">Byzantine Empire</a>. It <a href="/facts/Siege_of_Thessalonica_(1422%25E2%2580%25931430)/nYyDEEL9">was conquered by the Ottomans</a> in 1430 and remained an important seaport and multi-ethnic metropolis during the nearly five centuries of <a href="/facts/Ottoman_Greece/9PL46CKv">Turkish rule</a>, with churches, mosques, and synagogues co-existing side by side. From the 16th to the 20th century it was the only <a href="/facts/History_of_the_Jews_in_Thessaloniki/nomazWC3">Jewish-majority city in Europe</a>. It passed from the <a href="/facts/Ottoman_Empire/6QvfTRsg">Ottoman Empire</a> to the <a href="/facts/Kingdom_of_Greece/TJC3Ccpb">Kingdom of Greece</a> on 8 November 1912. Thessaloniki exhibits <a href="/facts/Byzantine_architecture/MMgGByGp">Byzantine architecture</a>, including <a href="/facts/Paleochristian_and_Byzantine_monuments_of_Thessaloniki/jRh9k4jC">numerous Paleochristian and Byzantine monuments</a>, a <a href="/facts/World_Heritage_Site/6AbWWKV4">World Heritage Site</a>, and several <a href="/facts/Roman_Empire/l4E1aUuV">Roman</a>, <a href="/facts/Ottoman_Empire/6QvfTRsg">Ottoman</a> and <a href="/facts/Sephardic_Jewish/VrvPsCeh">Sephardic Jewish</a> structures.
In 2013, <a href="/facts/National_Geographic_(magazine)/vnuhsmYg">National Geographic Magazine</a> included Thessaloniki in its top tourist destinations worldwide, while in 2014 <a href="/facts/Financial_Times/0ndae2YU">Financial Times</a> FDI magazine (Foreign Direct Investments) declared Thessaloniki as the best mid-sized European city of the future for human capital and lifestyle.

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Thessaloniki