White Tower of Thessaloniki

Thessaloniki Municipality, Greece

Open to visitors

The interior is normally open, possibly ticketed.

Strollie cannot guarantee access — always check before you travel.

Admission: Ticketed

From OpenStreetMap — confirm before travelling

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Standing on the waterfront of Thessaloniki in northern Greece, the White Tower is a 33.9-meter stone structure built around 1500 in the Ottoman architectural style. The present tower likely replaced a Byzantine fortification from around the 12th century, reconstructed by the Ottoman Empire after Sultan Murad II's capture of the city in 1430 to fortify the urban fortress. During Ottoman rule, it served as a notorious prison and execution site, most infamously for Janissaries who revolted under Mahmud II. In 1912, as Greece regained control of the city, the tower was substantially remodeled and whitewashed—a transformation that gave it its enduring name. Now a museum and protected archaeological site, the White Tower has become the symbolic emblem of Thessaloniki itself.