Museum for the Macedonian Struggle (Thessaloniki)

The Museum for the Macedonian Struggle is located in the centre of the city Thessaloniki in Central Macedonia, Greece. It occupies a neo-classical building designed by the renowned architect Ernst Ziller and built in 1893. In its six ground-floor rooms the museum graphically illustrates the modern and contemporary history of Greek Macedonia. It presents the social, economic, political and military developments that shaped the presence of Hellenism in the region. This approach enables the visitor to form a global picture, not only of the revolutionary movements in the area, but also of the rapidly changing society of the southern Balkans and its agonizing struggles to balance between tradition and modernization.

On 23 August 1890, a huge fire destroyed the southeastern quarters of Thessaloniki. Among the losses was the humble residence that housed the Consulate General of Greece It was next to a little-known church of St. Demetrius, also destroyed by the fire. Both buildings and the site were the property of the Greek Orthodox Community.

Soon, with the insurance money, the donation by Andreas Syngros and the help offered by the Greek government, a sufficient amount was collected to reconstruct the buildings of the Greek community. Among them was a new church dedicated to Saint Gregory Palamas and beside it a magnificent neoclassical residence was built to plans by Ernst Ziller, appropriate for a consular mansion. In discussions that took place between the leaders of the Greek community of Thessaloniki, Andreas Syngros and the Greek consul Georgios Dokos, it was deemed essential for the consulate to remain on the same site in order to facilitate the covert collaboration of the community elders with the consulate. The foundations were laid in September 1892, and work was completed in August 1893. In 1894, it was rented by the city’s Greek community to the Hellenic state to house the Greek Consulate in Thessaloniki.

The term of office of Lambros Koromilas (1904-1907) was of major importance because he organised the special secret services for the Greek Struggle for Macedonia within the consulates, known as the “Centers”. The “Center” in Thessaloniki collaborated with the other “centers” in Macedonia and directed operations. It was staffed mainly by officers, who were in contact with local agents and armed bands. They were also in communication with the national committees that were staffed by the inhabitants of Macedonian villages and cities. The Consulate building frequently hosted fighters who entered unnoticed through a side door into the courtyard of the neighboring episcopal residence.

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Wikipedia