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Great Thessaloniki Fire of 1917

1917 disasters in Greece1917 fires in Europe1917 in GreeceFires in GreeceModern history of Thessaloniki
Urban fires in Europe
Aftermath of the Thessaloniki Fire of 1917
Aftermath of the Thessaloniki Fire of 1917

The Great Thessaloniki Fire of 1917 (Greek: Μεγάλη Πυρκαγιά της Θεσσαλονίκης, 1917) destroyed two thirds of the city of Thessaloniki, the second-largest city in Greece, leaving more than 70,000 homeless. The fire burned for 32 hours and destroyed 9,500 houses within an extent of 1 square kilometer. Half the Jewish population emigrated from the city as their livelihoods were gone. Rather than quickly rebuilding, the government commissioned the French architect Ernest Hébrard to design a new urban plan for the burned areas and for the future expansion of the city. His designs are still evident in the city, most notably Aristotelous Square, although some of his most grandiose plans were never completed due to a lack of funds. French navy official Dufour de la Thuillerie writes in his report that "I saw Thessaloniki, a city of more than 150,000 people, burn".

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Great Thessaloniki Fire of 1917 (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

Great Thessaloniki Fire of 1917
Ελευθερίου Βενιζέλου, Thessaloniki Municipal Unit Aristotelous (1st District of Thessaloniki)

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N 40.635 ° E 22.94 °
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Τ.Σ. ΒΕΝΙΖΕΛΟΥ (58)

Ελευθερίου Βενιζέλου
546 24 Thessaloniki Municipal Unit, Aristotelous (1st District of Thessaloniki)
Macedonia and Thrace, Greece
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Aftermath of the Thessaloniki Fire of 1917
Aftermath of the Thessaloniki Fire of 1917
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Venizelou station

Venizelou (Greek: Βενιζέλου, literally Venizelos [Street]) is an under-construction metro station serving Thessaloniki Metro's Line 1 and Line 2. The station is named after Eleftherios Venizelos, Liberal Prime Minister of Greece. It is expected to enter service in 2023. Construction of this station has been held back by major archaeological finds, and it is designated as a high-importance archaeological site by Attiko Metro, the company overseeing its construction. At this station, Roman Thessaloniki's marble-clad and column-lined Decumanus Maximus (main east-west avenue), along with shops and houses, was found running along the route of the Via Egnatia (modern Egnatia Street) at 5.4 metres (18 ft) below ground level.The discovery was so major that it delayed the entire Metro project for years. A historian dubbed the discovery "the Byzantine Pompeii". Attiko Metro wanted to disassemble the road and re-assemble it elsewhere, while the City Council wanted Attiko Metro to redesign its network to accommodate the discovery in situ. Ultimately the case reached Greece's Council of State and Attiko Metro re-designed the metro line, sinking the tunnels to a depth ranging from 14 metres (46 ft) to 31 metres (102 ft), and making provisions for mini museums within the metro stations, similar to those of Athens Metro stations like Syntagma, which houses the Syntagma Metro Station Archaeological Collection.Venizelou station will also feature an open archaeological site, the first of its kind anywhere in a metro station, in order to maintain the road in its original location. At the next station, Aghia Sofia, where the same road was unearthed (and where it is arguably more important, as a public square was found as well), the road will be disassembled and reassembled elsewhere.Venizelou station also appears in the 1988 Thessaloniki Metro proposal under the name Alkazar. Alkazar is the popular name for Hamza Bey Mosque, a landmark on Egnatia and Venizelou streets.