Rotunda

The Rotunda of Galerius, also known as the Rotunda of Saint George, is one of the oldest structures in Thessaloniki and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is located just north of the intersection of two main axes of the city - Egnatia and Dimitriou Gounari streets - where the Arch of Galerius stands. It closely resembles the Pantheon in Rome, with 6-metre-thick walls and a 30-metre-high brick dome with an oculus in the middle.

The Rotunda is believed to have been erected on tetrarch Galerius’ orders in around 306 AD to become his mausoleum, while some other scholars claim it was a temple dedicated to Kabeiroi or Zeus. Having stood for nearly twenty-three centuries, the Rotunda has witnessed the rise and fall of empires and religious systems. It was converted into a church in the late fourth century, then a mosque during the Ottoman reign, and back into a church after Balkan War. It is now a protected historical monument under the Greek Ministry of Culture’s Ephorate of Byzantine Antiquities.