It is unclear whether the chemise was part of the original scheme for the tower or was a later addition.[1]. The White Tower in Thessaloniki Greece is a work of Ottoman fortification style built by Venetian craftsmen. Coordinates: .mw-parser-output .geo-default,.mw-parser-output .geo-dms,.mw-parser-output .geo-dec{display:inline}.mw-parser-output .geo-nondefault,.mw-parser-output .geo-multi-punct{display:none}.mw-parser-output .longitude,.mw-parser-output .latitude{white-space:nowrap}40°37′34.93″N 22°56′54.34″E / 40.6263694°N 22.9484278°E / 40.6263694; 22.9484278. The White Tower takes the form of a cylindrical drum 23 m (75 ft) in diameter with a height of 34 m (112 ft) above ground level, on top of which is a turret 12 m (39 ft) in diameter and 6 m (20 ft) high. The present tower replaced an old Byzantine fortification, known to have been mentioned around the 12th century, that the Ottoman Empire reconstructed to fortify the city's harbour sometime after Sultan Murad II captured Thessaloniki in 1430. It then housed the headquarters for Thessaloniki’s air defense until 1983, when it became property of the state. The theme of the top floor was death, covering burial and graves, funerary customs, finds from graves, gravestone inscriptions from cemeteries, even objects and specimens of magic were on display in the show cases on the top floor of the Tower. The controversy was part of a larger dispute over the historically important name of Macedonia. Being a registered user gives you privilege to save all cruise itineraries that you build in your account and access them later on any device. At its location there had been an older tower belonging to Thessaloniki’s Byzantine fortifications, where the eastern wall met the sea wall. A popular story states that in the second half of the 19th century, the Ottoman Empire attempted to literally “whitewash” the tower’s brutal history by considering a new name for the monument. The historian Franz Babinger speculated that the work was designed by the great Ottoman architect Mimar Sinan, who is known to have built fortifications, including a similar tower at the Albanian port Valona in 1537. A four-member Greek family are a YouTube sensation through their often funny, and even more often unlikely adventures as they tour the globe. The Tower houses the "Museum of History and Art of Thessaloniki". Thessaloniki’s famous seaside pedestrian street, the promenade, also passes by the White Tower, making it a hangout spot for many of the city’s residents. When Thessaloniki was taken from the Ottoman Empire by the Hellenic State in 1912 during the First Balkan War, the tower was whitewashed as a symbolic gesture of cleansing, and acquired its present name (there are numerous photographs from 1880s-90s showing the tower already white). The White Tower houses an exhibition dedicated to the city of Thessaloniki and its history throughout various periods, organized by the city's Museum of Byzantine Culture. Some of the embrasures in the outer wall of the tower are reached by a spiral ramp; others are accessed from a central room on each of the six floors. Credit:ΣΟΛΑΚΙΔΗΣ ΣΩΤΗΡΙΟΣ /Wikimedia Commons/CC BY-SA 4.0. It was built in the 15th century and was used as a fortress to strengthen the defense in the port, as a guard and as a prison. No need to register, buy now! But being a symbol of the city, the Tower deserves to be visited. After the Ottoman Empire invaded and seized control of the city in 1430, the existing tower was built on top of the old Byzantine structure. White Tower of Thessaloniki White Tower is historical monument and museum at the waterfront of Thessaloniki. During World War I, the White Tower served as a center of communications for the Allies, as well as a safe place for the storage of antiquities and other priceless artifacts from the ancient city. "[11][12], The printing of the notes became the subject of a rumor in Greece that the currency of the new neighbouring state did in fact depict Greek symbols —a highly controversial point, given the dispute with the Republic of Macedonia over its name and flag. Because of its reputation as a notorious prison it was also known as the "Blood Tower" or the "Red Tower". Regardless of its origin, by the early 20th century the popular name for the structure was the White Tower, and it has remained so until today. The tower was designed by Greek architect A. Anastasiadis and was completed in 1965, with the first black and white broadcasts on a Greek television network taking place from the tower in 1966. Date: 5 April 2018, 18:24:47: Source: Own work: Author: Annatsach: Licensing . Seine auffallende Gestaltung sorgte dafür, dass die gesamte Festung als Tower (Turm) bekannt wurde, obwohl sie neben dem White Tower noch aus zahlreichen weiteren Gebäuden, Mauern und Gräben besteht. It is believed by some that the architect of this defensive fortress was Mimar Sinan, who also built a very similar tower in the port of Valona in Albania. The White Tower of Thessaloniki is the city's most famous attraction and symbol, due to the long history and the architecture that characterize it. A work by the famous Ottoman architect Sinan. Most likely it was built during the early Ottoman period, sometime after 1530. 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