Βενιζέλου Venizelou | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| General information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Location | Thessaloniki Greece | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Coordinates | 40°38′13″N22°56′31″E / 40.63694°N 22.94194°E /40.63694; 22.94194 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Owned by | Elliniko Metro | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Line |   | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Platforms | 1 (island) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Tracks | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Construction | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Accessible | Yes | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Key dates | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 29 November 2024 | Design unveiled | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 30 November 2024 | Opened[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Services | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Venizelou (Greek:Βενιζέλου,listenⓘ,lit. 'Venizelos [Street]')[3] is ametro station servingThessaloniki Metro'sLine 1 andLine 2. The station is named after the adjacent Venizelou Street, which in turn is named afterEleftherios Venizelos,LiberalPrime Minister ofGreece. It entered service in 2024.[4] Construction of this station has been held back bymajor archaeological finds, and it is designated as a high-importance archaeological site by Attiko Metro, the company overseeing its construction.[5] The design of the station interiors was kept a secret until a day before its opening, and it was revealed in a ceremony attended by bothPrime MinisterKyriakos Mitsotakis andPresidentKaterina Sakellaropoulou.[6]
At this station,Roman Thessaloniki's marble-clad and column-linedDecumanus Maximus (main east-west avenue), along with shops and houses, was found running along the route of theVia Egnatia (modernEgnatia Street) at 5.4 metres (18 ft) below ground level.[5][7] The discovery was so major that it delayed the entire Metro project for years. A historian dubbed the discovery "theByzantinePompeii".[8] Attiko Metro wanted to disassemble the road and re-assemble it elsewhere, while the City Council wanted Attiko Metro to redesign its network to accommodate the discoveryin situ. Ultimately the case reached Greece'sCouncil of State and Attiko Metro re-designed the metro line, sinking the tunnels to a depth ranging from 14 metres (46 ft) to 31 metres (102 ft), and making provisions for mini museums within the metro stations, similar to those ofAthens Metro stations likeSyntagma, which houses theSyntagma Metro Station Archaeological Collection.[5]
Venizelou station also features an openarchaeological site, the first of its kind anywhere in a metro station, in order to maintain the road in its original location.[7] At the next station,Agias Sofias, where the same road was unearthed (and where it is arguably more important, as a public square was found as well), the road will be disassembled and reassembled elsewhere.[7]
Venizelou station also appears in the1988 Thessaloniki Metro proposal under the nameAlkazar.[9]Alkazar is the popular name forHamza Bey Mosque, a landmark on Egnatia and Venizelou streets.
