PANAGIA CHALKEON CHURCH

The Church of the Virgin of the Boilermakers (Ιερός Ναός Παναγίας Χαλκέων/Ieros Naos Panagias Chalkedon) is one of 15 monuments in Thessaloniki listed as a Unesco World Heritage Site. And it's one of the city's oldest: it was founded in 1028 by a Byzantine officer from southern Italy in what was for centuries the district of the coppersmiths and goldsmiths. Its current position, several meters below the level of the main Dikastirion ("Courthouse") square, bears witness to the tumultuous history of a city built over the centuries on the rubble of buildings destroyed by wars, earthquakes and fires. The church itself was a Muslim place of worship from 1430 to 1912, under the name of the "Boilermakers' Mosque" (Kazancılar Camii), and suffered extensive damage in the 1933 earthquake. While the building retains its inscribed cross plan, three domes and beautiful brickwork, it has lost most of its frescoes. However, the Last Judgment scene (in the narthex) and parts of the cycle of Christ's life remain: Adoration of the Magi, Presentation of Jesus in the Temple, Pentecost and Ascension. The garden around the church is peaceful. Nearby, in the square, stands the white marble statue of Prime Minister Eleftherios Venizelos (1864-1934), dating from 1977, and the former hammam Bey, created by Sultan Murad II in 1444 and in operation until 1968.