Thessaloniki is Greece’s second-largest city, with around 319,000 people in the municipality and more than one million in the surrounding regional unit. Founded in 316/315 BC by King Cassander of Macedon and named after his wife Thessalonike, the half-sister of Alexander the Great, the city developed into one of the major commercial ports of the Balkans. Its long Roman, Byzantine, Ottoman and Jewish history remains visible throughout the centre, with landmarks including the White Tower, the Rotunda, the Arch of Galerius and the Byzantine churches that form part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Ano Poli, the surviving upper old town, retains sections of the medieval walls and offers views across the city and Thermaic Gulf, while the long waterfront is one of Thessaloniki’s defining features. Thessaloniki also has an established heavy metal history: guitarist Gus G was born here, and both Firewind and melodic death metal band Nightrage were formed in the city in the late 1990s and early 2000s.

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