3rd Military Force
Eclectic building, originally built for the Ottoman army. From the integration of Thessaloniki in Greece until today, it is a building of the Greek army.
Modern and Contemporary era (1912 - )
1912 Became the headquarters of the Greek military force.
1916 It was the headquarters of the Venizelos’ temporary government.
1969 The facades were painted. The building was monochromatic until then.
Ottoman era (1453- 1912)
1900 Built between 1900- 1901, serving the needs of the Ottoman army.
Byzantine era (331 AC- 1453)
Roman era (30 BC- 330 AC)
Hellenistic era (322- 31 BC)
Classical era (478-323 BC)
Archaic era (800-479 BC)
Geometric era (-1100- 800 BC)
Prehistory (-1100 BC)
What I can see
This eclectic oblong building today houses the services of NATO’s 3rd Military Force. It has always been a military space and remains so to this day, therefore free visiting, photography and video recording of its premises are prohibited. It is a two-storey building with a rectangular ground plan, with a three-storey central part in slight projection, as well as its two edges. The entrance is monumental, there is an enclosed balcony above it and it is crowned with a pediment with baroque influences. The facades are organized according to the neoclassical principle: base-main body- crowning and also renaissance and baroque elements are combined.
What I can't see
It was the newest building in a series of military buildings of the Ottoman army, designed by Vitaliano Poselli. There are roof paintings of rare beauty in its interior. The building was built with a fundraiser from the citizens of Thessaloniki at the request of the Turkish governor, because the state could not cover this expense. But why were ancient Greek and European architectural standards applied to an Ottoman military building? At that time, Thessaloniki and the Ottoman Empire as a whole were trying to acquire a more Western profile, with which it would be more systematically integrated into Western capitalism and markets, while the decline of the empire had already begun decades ago in political, economic and social level.
Info
- Address: 1 Stratou Av.
Bibliography
Collective Work, (1985-6), Νεώτερα Μνημεία της Θεσσαλονίκης [Modern Monuments of Thessaloniki], Ministry of Culture, Ministry of Northern Greece
Moskof K., (1978), Η εθνική κοινωνική συνείδηση στην Ελλάδα. Ιδεολογία του μεταπρατικού χώρου, [The national social consciousness in Greece. Ideology of the retail space], in Kampouri E., Mavroudi E., Trakosopoulou K., (d.u.), Τα νεότερα μνημεία της Θεσσαλονίκης, [Modern Monuments of Thessaloniki], digital edition
Ζafeiris Ch., (2014), Θεσσαλονίκη, η παρουσία των απόντων, η κληρονομιά Ρωμαίων, Μουσουλμάνων, Εβραίων, Ντονμέδων, Φράγκων, Αρμενίων και Σλάβων, [Thessaloniki, the presense of the absent, the heritage of Romans, Muslims, Jews, Doenme, Franks, Armenians and Slavs], Thessaloniki: Epikentro
Open House Thessaloniki, (2018), Army Headquarters, ΟΗΤΗ
