Thessaloniki was founded in 315 BC by Cassander of Macedon, who named it after his wife Thessalonike, (Θεσσαλονίκη) sister of Alexander the Great. Thanks to its strategic position on the Via Egnatia, it quickly became a major commercial and military hub. Under the Roman Empire, Thessaloniki flourished as the second most important city in the Balkans after Constantinople. Early Christianity took strong root here; the Apostle Paul preached in the city, and several of Europe’s oldest Christian monuments survive from this period. During the Byzantine era, Thessaloniki was a key cultural and religious center, second only to the capital Constantinople (thus called “συμβασιλεύουσα” ), famous for its churches, mosaics, and fortifications. Despite repeated sieges, it remained vital until it fell to the Ottoman Turks in 1430, entering nearly five centuries of Ottoman rule marked by a diverse population of Greeks, Jews, and Muslims.

The city was incorporated into modern Greece in 1912. A devastating fire in 1917 reshaped its urban layout, leading to a modern redesign. Today, Thessaloniki is Greece’s second-largest city—known for its layered history, vibrant waterfront, amazing sunsets, rich gastronomy, and lively cultural & night life, where ancient Greece, Byzantium, and modern Greece live side by side.