The Municipality of Thessaloniki belongs to the Regional Unity of Thessaloniki of the Region of Central Macedonia and has a population of 325,182 inhabitants, based on the latest census of 2011.
The seat of the Municipality is Thessaloniki, a co-capital of Greece, a beautiful city called the Thermaic nymph.
Thessaloniki has a long history and is a lively museum of Byzantine art, preserved monuments from the Early Christian period to the Turkish occupation.
In the area of ​​Thessaloniki, life came from prehistoric times. There are finds from the Neolithic age. In the wider area of ​​Thessaloniki, settlements grew and they approached the beach. At the heart of the present city was a Ionic temple of the 5th century BC. It is believed that the pre-existing city of Thessaloniki was Thermi. That's why the bay that rains the city is called Thermaikos.
In 316 BC Kassandros, grandson of Alexander the Great and king of the Macedonian kingdom, founded the new city on the old city, giving it the name of the wife of Thessaloniki, daughter of Philip II and grandson of Alexander the Great. Choosing the location was not accidental. The city was at the edge of the sea bay and climbed to a hill where its citadel was built, while the surrounding mountains provided protection and communication with the rest of Macedonia's mainland and the other states of the successors of Alexander the Great.
Although Pella was the capital of the Macedonian state, Thessaloniki became the first city of Northern Greece, the main port and base of the merchant and navy.
The new city was developed by residents, mainly farmers from the surrounding area, and was organized politically, religiously and socially. Due to its geographical position, it communicated with the whole world, developed its trade and accepted new religions. In the 3rd century AD, Thessaloniki received both East and Jewish residents, who had spread to all the major trading cities of the Mediterranean. During those years, the city's first rumors began.
168, although initially the city was defending itself from the Roman attack, eventually surrendered to the Roman High Emilio Pavlos. In the years following the Roman occupation, Thessaloniki grew more and became the major military, political and commercial center of the peninsula. Due to the expansion of the Roman Empire to the East, Thessaloniki gained greater importance. Then the famous large military route of the east, Egnatia, was built, starting from the Adriatic and reaching the Hellespont. Thessaloniki was at the center of transport and for this reason the Romans protected the city. It became a multi-human city, the growth of the economy continued, there was a harmonious coexistence of religions and a great spiritual movement. Olympia, Pythia, Kaviera mysteries were celebrating. The language used was Greek. In the 1st century AD, the religion that prevailed was Christian. Indeed, the city was visited by Apostle Paul.

And in the years that followed, Thessaloniki maintained the favor of the Roman emperors. In the 3rd century Emperor Galerius expanded the city walls to the east and built his palaces, Rotunda, Kamara, Hippodrome and more. During his years there was persecution against the Christians, and then died, the later patron saint of Agios Dimitrios in Thessaloniki.
At the time of the Roman Emperor Theodosius of the Great, the walls became stronger in order for the city to defend itself against the Goths. In 390 AD, 7,000 nationalist inhabitants were massacred on the Hippodrome by order of Theodosius. In 395 the Roman state was divided into two parts, the east with its capital Istanbul and the western capital with Rome. Thessaloniki was in the second hierarchy after Constantinople.
During the years of its millennial Byzantine history, Thessaloniki was tried by raids by barbarians, such as Goths, Avars, Huns, Slavs, but managed to maintain its Hellenism. The Greek light was radiating in the region of Macedonia, but also in the Baltic countries that lived in Slavic tribes.
The city was greatly attacked by pirates in the 10th century, who destroyed, slaughtered, ravaged and captured the inhabitants. For many years, the enemy of Thessaloniki was the Bulgarians and later the Normans. After the fall of the city by the Crusaders in 1204, Thessaloniki was given to the Franks.
In the 13th and 14th centuries, despite the turmoil that occurred, Thessaloniki had a regenerative movement, especially in letters and education.
After the Turkish occupation of Constantinople in 1453, Thessaloniki for a few years was handed over to the Venetians, while in 1430 it was dominated by the Turks. The city was deserted and a few thousand people were left. Since the 18th century, a new social class has begun to develop, that of naval dealers. After the Revolution of 1821, the city began to become European, schools were set up and the teachers and priests who led the Macedonian Struggle were prepared. In 1912 Thessaloniki was delivered by the Turks to Greece.
In 1917 the city was tested by a great fire that left behind large disasters and thousands of homeless people.
Modern Thessaloniki is an important port and transport hub, a major export and import center in the country. It is a vibrant city with a lively life that has nothing to envy from the capital of Athens.
The trademark of the city is the White Tower, which was originally fortified tower of the 15th century. Later, it was a janissary guard and a death row prison.
Scattered in the city are monuments, most notably the part of the Galerius palace, the arched arch located in the center of the city, the marble arc found in the southwest part of the same emperor's palace, decorated with two busts. An important monument is Saint George (Rotunda), which is a circular building. Next to him has been added a minaret from the years of Ottoman domination. Impressive are the 4th-century walls in the old town of Thessaloniki. Of great historical importance are the Byzantine baths of the 13th century, as well as the Byzantine water system.
An important find is the Late Archangelic Temple of Aphrodite.
Since the Ottoman rule, Ottoman mosques have been rescued, such as Hamza Bey Mosque, Alatza Imaret, Yeni Mosque. Exquisite architectural work is the Ottoman Bath of 1444.
The city has historic churches with a protruding temple of Agios Dimitrios, a great monument from a religious and ethnic point of view. Hagia Sophia is a building of the medieval Thessaloniki of the 8th century. The katholikon of the Vlattas Monastery, built in the 14th century, is dedicated to the Transfiguration of the Savior. Taxiarchs is also a temple of the 14th century. Prophet Elijah is built in the Mount Athos.
There are many museums in Thessaloniki, such as archaeological, Byzantine, Macedonian, etc.
The impressive sights of the city are the OTE Tower, the statue of Alexander the Great at Agia Sophia Square and the Megaron of Music. Since 1926, the Thessaloniki International Fair has been organized in the city, one of the most important in the country and southeastern Europe. Since 1960 and every November the city hosts the Film Festival.