The city walls of Thessaloniki were built by Kassandros after the foundation of the city and later reinforced by the Romans.
However, the walls which one can see today originate from the Byzantine period. Due to the constantly increasing traffic, parts of the walls were torn in 1869. 4 km of the originally 8 km long fastening walls are still preserved.
The northern part of the city walls borders on the former Akropolis of Thessaloniki, which you should definitely visit.
In the northeast you find the Heptapyrgion, the Castle of the Seven Towers, a fortress from the Byzantine and Ottoman time. The Heptapyrgion, also known under the Ottoman name Yedikule Fortress, housed the garrison of the Ottoman Empire until the end of the 19th Century; until 1989 it served as prison.
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More InformationThere are assumptions that the five towers in the north were built under Emperor Theodosius in the 4th Century, however, other theories say that the towers were built in the 9th Century. It is generally agreed that the southern towers date from the 12th Century.
From Heptapyrgion one has a striking panoramic view over the city and its harbor.
More to see in Thessaloniki:
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