Thessaloniki is the second-largest city in Greece and the capital of Macedonia, the nation's largest region. It is honorarily called the Συμπρωτεύουσα Symprotevousa (lit. co-capital) of Greece, as it was once called the συμβασιλεύουσα symbasilevousa (co-queen) of the Byzantine Empire. It is the largest city in the wider geographical region of Macedonia. The Thessaloniki Urban Area. According to the 2001 census, the municipality of Thessaloniki had a population of 363,987.
Thessaloniki is Greece's second major economic, industrial, commercial and political centre, and a major transportation hub for the rest of southeastern Europe; its commercial port is also of great importance for Greece and its southeast European hinterland. It has been traditional for the country's Prime Minister to set out his government's policies for each coming year in a speech at the annual Thessaloniki International Trade Fair.
Thessaloniki retains several Ottoman and Jewish structures as well as a large number of Byzantine architectural monuments. The city has hosted an annual International Trade Fair, the Thessaloniki International Film Festival, and the largest bi-annual meeting of the Greek diaspora. |
