A Place of Remembrance
Eleftherias square
Eleftherias (Freedom) square, the first square created in the city, was the result of the modern urban plans of 1867-1870 and the demolition of the seafront wall. The square, originally named Wharf square and then renamed Olympus square, served as the official entrance from the sea to the city. It took its contemporary name after 1908 when members of Young Turks Revolution demonstrated here, demanding freedom and equality. It was a cosmopolitan square surrounded by several neoclassical buildings, restaurants, and cafes where the bourgeois of the city were gathered. The great fire of 1917 and then the urban plans of the architect Ernest Hébrard for the city degraded the importance of the square. In its southeast corner is the Holocaust Memorial Menorah, dedicated to the Jewish population of Thessaloniki murdered in the concentration camps. Designed by the Serbian artist Naneon Glid and his sons Daniel and Gabriel, it was originally located behind the Hippokrateio Hospital(the former Hirsch Hospital), and then moved to Elftherias square in 2007.
As seen on
Salonika: The Balkan Jerusalem
Click shuffle to discover more great stories.
©2026 All rights reserved.