Agias Sofias Square ( el, Πλατεία Αγίας Σοφίας) is a

square In Euclidean geometry, a square is a regular quadrilateral, which means that it has four equal sides and four equal angles (90- degree angles, π/2 radian angles, or right angles). It can also be defined as a rectangle with two equal-length a ...

in the city of

Thessaloniki Thessaloniki (; el, Θεσσαλονίκη, , also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece, with over one million inhabitants in its metropolitan area, and the capital of the geographic region of ...

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders ...

History

The square dates back to the

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

period of the city and took its name from the church of

Hagia Sophia Hagia Sophia ( 'Holy Wisdom'; ; ; ), officially the Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque ( tr, Ayasofya-i Kebir Cami-i Şerifi), is a mosque and major cultural and historical site in Istanbul, Turkey. The cathedral was originally built as a Greek Ortho ...

(''Holy Wisdom'') located within it. At the time it was also called ''Skalia''. During a fire in 1890, it was heavily damaged but was restored under the supervision of Charles Diehl, a notable Byzantinist. Although not a square today, plans have been released which include the complete redevelopment of the area with a new square and pedestrianized zone to extent from the Church of the Acheiropoietos to the sea.

Gallery

File:Thessaloniki, Greece - 1920s.jpg, Celebrations in the square in the 20s File:Agia Sofia front July 2006.jpg,

church File:20160516 249 thessaloniki.jpg, Longos mansion (arch. Leonardo Gennari) File:Дом на пл. Св. Софии - panoramio.jpg, Israel building (arch. Joseph Pleyber) File:20160516 219 thessaloniki.jpg, Nedelkos building (arch. Xenophon Paionidis), Mackenzie King Street File:Thessalonikki, Greece 5 Old Church 4.jpg, Church of the Acheiropoietos File:Street in Solun, Greece.JPG, Agias Sofias Street File:Граждане читают и обсуждают газету. - panoramio.jpg, Sculpture in the square

Sources

Agias Sofias Square
{{coord, 40.6333, 22.9459, type:landmark_region:GR, display=title Roman Thessalonica Byzantine architecture in Thessaloniki Buildings and structures in Thessaloniki Squares in Thessaloniki Byzantine Revival architecture in Greece