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Ministry of Macedonia- Thrace/ Government house

It was a government house during the ottoman years.

  1. Modern and Contemporary era (1912 - )


    1912 It houses the administration services of the Greek government for Macedonia and the Ministry Macedonia- Thrace.

  2. Ottoman era (1453- 1912)


    1891 Constructed. Designed by Vitaliano Poselli.

    1907 Housed the Ottoman law school.

    1911 The Sultan Mehmet the 5th stayed here, when he visited the city.

  3. Byzantine era (331 AC- 1453)


  4. Roman era (30 BC- 330 AC)


  5. Hellenistic era (322- 31 BC)


  6. Classical era (478-323 BC)


  7. Archaic era (800-479 BC)


  8. Geometric era (-1100- 800 BC)


  9. Prehistory (-1100 BC)


What I can see

The current Ministry of Macedonia-Thrace was the city’s headquarters during the late Ottoman era. It was the seat of the regional governor (vali).  Earlier at this point, there was a konak (luxurious house), which was built on Byzantine antiquities. It is an eclectic building, which combines neoclassicism with many European elements of the time. The fact that the building -like others of the same era- does not have any elements of Turkish architecture, shows the orientation of the Ottoman Empire in a more European direction, thus gradually changing the image of the city. The facade is highlighted by the marble staircase leading to the three entrances. In 1955, the top floor was added and the Renaissance-style pediment was replaced by a Greek-style neoclassical one. Thus, the building was significantly altered.

What I can't see

In recent history, the Government House has been linked with the big strikes of 1936. On May 8, 1936, approximately 6,000 tobacco workers demonstrated at the Government House and issued a resolution with their demands. The Greek government’s response was violent police repression, which led to shootings, trampling and eventually 280 injured and 9 dead. This incident rallied citizens that eventually supported the tobacco workers and their anger was expressed throughout the city, while the entire country was already on strike. The events of May 1936 became a one-on-one clash between the police and the crowd. The funerals of the victims gathered 150,000 citizens. The army sent to disperse the crowd joined the protesters. In the end, the government sent the fleet and army from Larissa, resulting in the suppression of the riot with another 12 people dead.

Info

Bibliography

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

 

Katsoridas D., (2015), Φεντερασιόν και Μάης του ’36: Δύο βασικοί ιστορικοί σταθμοί της πόλης της Θεσσαλονίκης ως παράδειγμα για ένα νέο εργατικό- συνδικαλιστικό κίνημα σήμερα, [Federation and May of ’36: Two main historical milestones of the city of Thessaloniki as an example for a new labour union movement today], in Kairidis D., (ed.), (2015), Θεσσαλονίκη, μια πόλη σε μετάβαση, 1912-2012, [Thessaloniki, a city in transition, 1912-2012], Thessaloniki: Epikentro, p.p. 300- 315

 

Kolonas V., (1997), Η αρχιτεκτονική από τον 19ο στον 20ο αιώνα, [Architecture from the 19th to the 20th centuries] in Liontis K., (1997) (ed), Αρχιτεκτονική της Θεσσαλονίκης, [Architecture in Thessaloniki] in Epta Imeres, Kathimerini, p.p. 12-14

 

Tsaktsira L, Papanthimou K., Mantziou G., Kalogirou N., (2014), Θεσσαλονίκη, η πόλη και τα μνημεία της, [Thessaloniki, the city and its monuments], Thessaloniki: Malliaris Pedia