What I can see

This is one of the most important educational institutions in the country and internationally. When it was established, it had only five schools. Today, it has 11 faculties (sciences, engineering, health sciences, philosophy, law, agriculture forestry and natural environment, education, physical education and sport sciences, fine arts, economic and political sciences and theology), 41 departments and approximately 95,000 students and 4,500 teaching, research and administrative staff. The campus occupies an area of about 430 acres. The first AUTH building was the old School of Philosophy, while most of its other buildings are unique examples of post-war architecture, designed by Professor Patroklos Karantinos, who is also responsible for several 1950s university buildings and was the main trend-setter of the modernist movement in the city. The final plan of the campus emerged many years after the founding of the university, and after the plans of many important architects-urban planners had been rejected. The most positive elements of this plan are the possibility of coexistence of different architectural trends, and the perimeter layout of the buildings, which allows an undisturbed area of central greenery. Subsequent interventions over the following decades negatively affected this design and its original intentions. Finally, apart from school buildings, visitors to the campus can see antiquities displayed as well as museums.

What I can't see

The establishment of a university in Thessaloniki was the dream of Eleftherios Venizelos, in order that northern Greece, which had just been annexed to the Greek State, could have an internationally acclaimed educational institution. However, it took years for Venizelos’ vision to materialize. The campus was built in the city centre on top of a former Jewish cemetery. Its central location ensures that it remains an integral part of the city’s daily life and commercial activity, while also preventing a “split” in the city, which is laid out in a somewhat unregulated way to the east and west, creating essentially a topographic link between the two separate districts. University facilities also exist outside the campus. The AUTH has been regularly listed in the Top 500 World Universities (2010: 301 & 400, 2012: 158, 2013: 194) as well as among Europe’s most important academic institutions (2012: 45, 2013: 62). The scientific activity of the Central Seismological Station of the University is also renowned internationally. Moreover, the university features 16 spaces that house museums, archives and collections, an abundance of graffiti on its walls –including some very political ones– while musical events are often hosted here. It is also a place of open social and political discussion and action, which frequently and openly questions State policy.

Info

• Address: University Campus
• Postal Code : 54124

Bibliography