Rotonda of Galerius

The Arch of Galerius and its nearby Rotunda, are ancient monuments built in the early fourth century. The complex to which they belonged was built during the reign of Emperor Galerius (305-311). During its existence, the Rotunda was used as a pagan temple (early fourth century), a church (late fourth century-1590/1912-), a mosque (1590-1912). It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1988.

About this building

Other nearby buildings

By I, Ωριγένης, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=2388507

Hagia Sophia

The Hagia Sophia Temple is a rare example of an iconoclastic church (726-787) combining the features of a cross-domed church and a basilica with three naves. Hagia Sophia was built at the turn of the 7th and 8th centuries on a 5th century church destroyed by an earthquake. Converted into a mosque by the Turks in 1523, it remained a place of Islamic worship until 1912 and the return of Thessaloniki into the Greek fold. In 1988, as a paleochristian and Byzantine monument, it was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

Source: European Jewish Cemeteries Initiative

Thessaloniki Old Jewish Cemetery

The exact period of the cemetery’s establishment is unknown, but it can be assumed that it was founded between the 14th and 15th centuries. On the eve of WWII, 40 active synagogues were in Thessaloniki. A total of 48,533 Jews were deported to the death camps. By the end of the war, Thessaloniki remained the great centre of Sephardic Jewry in Europe. After the war, around 400 Jews returned to Thessaloniki. The community was reestablished and became the second-largest Jewish community in Greece after Athens.