Jewish Museum of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece

The Jewish Museum of Thessaloniki presents the history of Sephardic Jews and Jewish life in the city. The collection of the museum was based on the documents, ritual objects, and photographic collections as well as the library that used to be housed at Vasileos Herakleiou 26. The building was built in 1904 by the Italian architect, Vitaliano Poselli.

On the ground level are monumental stones and inscriptions that were once found in the great Jewish necropolis that lay to the east of the city walls. Accompanying these stones are a series of photographs showing the cemetery and visitors as it was in 1914.

Central to the first floor is a narrative history of the Jewish presence in Thessaloniki from the 3rd century BCE until the Second World War. A separate exhibit focuses on the Shoah, as it affected the Jewish Community of Thessaloniki. The majority of the community - some 49,000 persons - was systematically deported to Auschwitz and Bergen-Belsen where most of them perished.

References:

Wikipedia

Museums in Greece

User Reviews

Elena Kudrya (14 months ago)
I was very impressed about the history of Jewish people in Thessaloniki. Also, this city was the centre of the Cabbala organization - the mysterious branch of Jewish religion. Highly recommend to whom are interested in history.

Sophia Korb Cohon (15 months ago)
Lovely and touching museum about the Jews of the Thessaloniki, from ancient times until modern. Detailed history, including about the architecture and renovation of the museum itself. Signage in Hebrew and Greek, I couldn't get the Android app to work. My only regret was not having more time to spend; we were rushing to a Roman and Jewish tour of the city. Loved the permanent exhibit about brides without smiles.

Barkay Guttel (15 months ago)
The place is really interesting and worth a visit. It includes information and exhibitions of the Jewish community before, during and after the Holocaust. Free entrance for students so don't forget your card!

Olaf Kolbatz (15 months ago)
As a specialist in Jewish history I am very critical but first of all very very nice stuff!!! And the exhibition is very well done but I would have liked to get to know about the present situation of Jews living in Thessaloniki.

Dr Dorothy Lobel King (2 years ago)
By far the most comprehensive Jewish museum in Greece.

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

Photo from Flickr, copyright joiseyshowaa

Historic Site of the week

Broch of Gurness

The Broch of Gurness is an Iron Age broch village. Settlement here began sometime between 500 and 200 BC. At the centre of the settlement is a stone tower or broch, which once probably reached a height of around 10 metres. Its interior is divided into sections by upright slabs. The tower features two skins of drystone walls, with stone-floored galleries in between. These are accessed by steps. Stone ledges suggest that there was once an upper storey with a timber floor. The roof would have been thatched, surrounded by a wall walk linked by stairs to the ground floor. The broch features two hearths and a subterranean stone cistern with steps leading down into it. It is thought to have some religious significance, relating to an Iron Age cult of the underground.

The remains of the central tower are up to 3.6 metres high, and the stone walls are up to 4.1 metres thick. The tower was likely inhabited by the principal family or clan of the area but also served as a last resort for the village in case of an attack.

The broch continued to be inhabited while it began to collapse and the original structures were altered. The cistern was filled in and the interior was repartitioned. The ruin visible today reflects this secondary phase of the broch's use.

The site is surrounded by three ditches cut out of the rock with stone ramparts, encircling an area of around 45 metres diameter. The remains of numerous small stone dwellings with small yards and sheds can be found between the inner ditch and the tower. These were built after the tower, but were a part of the settlement's initial conception. A 'main street' connects the outer entrance to the broch. The settlement is the best-preserved of all broch villages.

Pieces of a Roman amphora dating to before 60 AD were found here, lending weight to the record that a 'King of Orkney' submitted to Emperor Claudius at Colchester in 43 AD.

At some point after 100 AD the broch was abandoned and the ditches filled in. It is thought that settlement at the broch continued into the 5th century AD, the period known as Pictish times. By that time the broch was not used anymore and some of its stones were reused to build smaller dwellings on top of the earlier buildings. Until about the 8th century, the site was just a single farmstead.

In the 9th century, a Norse woman was buried at the site in a stone-lined grave with two bronze brooches and a sickle and knife made from iron. Other finds suggest that Norse men were buried here too.

Do you know an ancient castle or magnificent church near you?

Why not share it with other people interested in history? You can add your own historic sites and attractions to SpottingHistory.com.

It's absolutely free, easy, and doesn't even need registration!

Upload data

Jewish Museum of Thessaloniki

Address

Details

More Information

Rating

Interesting Sites Nearby

User Reviews

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

House of the Dragon Filming Locations

Historic Landmarks of Sicily

Rhodes, The Island of Knights

Historic Site of the week

Broch of Gurness

Looks like you are a history fan!