Great Thessaloniki Fire of 1917

The Great Thessaloniki Fire of 1917 (Greek: Μεγάλη Πυρκαγιά της Θεσσαλονίκης, 1917) was an accidental fire that got out of control and destroyed two thirds of the city of Thessaloniki, second-largest city in Greece, leaving more than 70,000 homeless, majority of them in the Turkish and Jewish quarters of the city. The fire burned for 32 hours and destroyed 9,500 houses within an extent of 1 square kilometer. Half the Jewish population emigrated from the city as their livelihoods were gone. Rather than quickly rebuilding, the government commissioned the French architect Ernest Hébrard to design a new urban plan for the areas of Thessaloniki that were burned and for the future expansion of the city. The designs of Hébrard are still evident in the city, most notably Aristotelous Square, although some of his most grandiose plans were never completed due to a lack of funds.