War Museum of Thessaloniki
The building that houses the War Museum of Thessaloniki is located in the wider area of the camp Champ de Mars which now houses the headquarters of the Third Army Corps. Designed to meet the needs of the Ottoman army, the museum building dates to the early twentieth century. In 1912, when Thessaloniki was liberated by the Greek army, the army assumed control of the building and used it to produce millitary units. After a period of inactivity, political and military leadership decided to convert the building into a war museum as an annex of the War Museum of Athens. Renovation and reconstruction began in 1993, and after completion, the Museum opened its doors to the public in 2000.
Today it houses more than ten thousand relics with additional space for temporary exhibits. Guided tours are avaliable in English (no addtional charge to admission) and are about one hour long. Each tour is given by an enlisted member of the Hellenic Army who is fluent in English. The tour covers both floors of the museum and the outside vehicles.
The permanent exhibition of Thessaloniki War Museum consists of customs, weapons, maps, paintings, lettercards and many others exhibits from the Balkan Wars, the World War I, the war of 1940, the Greek Resistance period as well as from the participation of the Greek forces to operations like Normandy and Africa in World War II.
A library, with rich literature on military subjects of the history of Greece, and a hall of 60 seats are also included in the museum.