The Rotonda & The Museum of Byzantine Culture

Πρώτη στάση (First Stop): The Rotonda

The Rotonda

The fountain outside of the Rotonda - before entering it was required to wash your hands, feet, and face to clean yourself of any impurities.

Cross in the bushes outside of the Rotonda.

After walking through the 6m thick walls, you have entered the Church of Agios Georgios, or the Rotonda of Galerius. It was built in 306 (4th century A.D.) and survived many of Thessaloniki’s earthquakes; including the earthquake in 1978 that damaged the structure. It has since been under construction and has been subsequently restored; it is currently being stabilized with scaffolding and has been since 2004. The diameter and height of the Rotonda are approximately 30m high and the walls are interrupted by eight rectangular bays. There are only a three mosaics that remain on the arches of the eight bays. One of the bays is the entrance into the cylindrical building and another is an extension, the minaret that was added in 1590.

The scaffolding that is supporting the Rotonda.

An exit that is no longer used. The next picture is what is on the ceiling of this bay.

One of the few remaining mosaics in one of eight Rotonda arches. The birds and peacocks are a symbol of heaven. One of the only reasons this mosaic still exists today is because it does not contain any holy figures.

These two pictures are of the minaret that was added to the Rotonda structure in 1590. Nothing was damaged in the minaret during the time when the Greeks captured Thessaloniki during the Balkan War.

Mosaic on the ceiling in the Rotonda.

Center of the ceiling mosaic. The middle was a picture of the Lord but was removed when the Greeks took over Thessaloniki during the Balkan War.

After Galerius's death in 311, the structure stood empty until the Emperor Constantine ordered it to be converted into a Christian church in the 4th century. The church was embellished with very high artistic quality mosaics. Only fragments survived of the original decoration.

The building functioned as a church for over 1.200 years until the city fell to the Ottomans. In 1590, it was then converted into a Muslim mosque, the Mosque of Suleyman Hortaji Effendi. It remained a mosque until 1912, when the Greeks captured the city during the Balkan War. It was then formally re-consecrated into a church, but the minaret was not demolished. The building is now a historical monument under the Ephorate of Byzantine Antiquities of the Greek Ministry of Culture, though the Greek Orthodox Church tries to reclaim it every so often.

Επόμενη στάση (Next Stop): The Museum of Byzantine Culture

The Museum of Byzantine Culture aims in presenting various aspects of life during the byzantine and post-byzantine periods: art, ideology, social structure and religion, as well as how historical changes and the political situation were affecting people’s everyday life. The treasures housed in this fine museum include priceless icons, frescoes, sculpted reliefs, mosaics, jewelry, manuscripts, and pottery.

The founding of the Museum of Byzantine Culture and its official opening in 1994 in Thessaloniki, the most "Byzantine" city of the Modern Greek state, marks the end of a story that had begun long before, just after the city’s liberation in 1912.

In August 1913, a decree issued by the Governor General of Macedonia, Stephanos Dragoumis, resolved to establish a "Central Byzantine Museum" in Thessaloniki. At the suggestion of the Metropolitan of Thessaloniki, Gennadios, it was decided that it would be housed in Acheiropoietos Church. The decision was never carried out, however. Instead of Acheiropoietos, a government decree issued in 1917 appointed the Rotunda as the new Macedonian museum, and large numbers of Christian sculptures were collected there, some of them remaining on display in the Rotunda until the earthquake of 1978. Meanwhile, the Christian and Byzantine Museum was founded in Athens in 1914, and in 1916, antiquities were transferred en masse from Thessaloniki to Athens "for their own protection" and eventually included in the collection of the Byzantine Museum in Athens.

The question of founding the Museum resurfaced in actuality after the change of polity in 1975. In 1977, a nationwide architectural competition was announced and it was won by the entry submitted by Kyriakos Krokos.

The foundation stone was laid in March 1989 and the building was completed and handed over in October 1993. The antiquities that had been transferred to Athens in 1916 returned in June 1994, part of which was displayed in the museum’s inaugural exhibition, "Byzantine Treasures of Thessaloniki: The Return Journey", which opened, together with the museum, on 11 September 1994.

The 11 rooms that comprise the Museum’s permanent exhibition opened gradually to the public from 1997 to early 2004.

This is a column that was found inside St. Demetrius's Church after the fire in 1917.

"Most of the elaborate decoration inside St. Demetrius's -sculptures, mosaics, and frescoes - was destroyed by the disastrous fire of 1917. However, some interesting parts of the original dcoration do still survive. The lost wall mosaics from the small north colonnade are known from photographs and form the water-colours painted by the English architect W.S. George"

"Fan-shaped ambo from the basilica near the Philippi Museum, 6th century."

Pottery used for food storage and transportation. These were also used as urns in tombs.

Glazed Pottery

"In the Middle Byzantine period, the practice of glazing household wares, particularly tableware, became widespread. A layer of glaze rendered the surface of the pottery impermeable and accentuated the decoration, which was painted, sgraffito (engraved through a layer of white slip), or relief (produced with a mold or a stamp).

The decorative motifs of Middle Byzantine pottery frequently include such mythical creatures as griffins, harpies, and centours, and scenes featuring heroes of the Acritic ballads."

"Vases - used for storage of foods, cooking oils, perfumes, and other liquids"

Tunic worn by priests/pastors/bishops/etc.

"Tunic (sakkos) and genual (epigonation) of loannikios, Bishop of Melnik, 1745 - 53, Mitre and devotional pendant (enkolpion), 19th century."

Another tunic. This one weighed 50 lbs.

"Scenes from the Old Testament story of Joseph, 1677-82"

"Manuscript Gospel, late 13th first half of 14th century.

Jewelry

"Gold bracelets with enamel decoration, 9th - 11th century. Such costly items of jewelry, which were worn by women, reflect the splendour and the luxury of the imperial court and the aristocracy."