THE CENTENNIAL OF THE LIBERATION OF THESSALONIKI

Since its foundation in Hellenistic times, Thessaloniki has always been an important centre of Hellenism. Thanks to its strategic position, the city assumed an increasingly pivotal role in the Balkans as a multi-ethnic and multicultural crossroads, both during Byzantine times and later under Ottoman rule. Thessaloniki was recaptured by the. Greeks during the First Balkan War on 26 October 1912 and was formally ceded to Greece at the end of the Second Balkan War with the signing of the Treaty of Bucharest on 28 July 1913. Liberation would soon usher in a new era of progress and growth, especially after the Asia Minor Disaster of 1922 and the massive influx of ethnic Greek refugees, who would give new momentum to the economic and social life of the city.