Thessaloniki or Salonica is Greece's second-largest city and the capital of Macedonia. According to official data, the Thessaloniki Urban Area extends around the Thermaic Gulf for approximately 17 km and comprises 16 municipalities. According to the 2001 census, the municipality of Thessaloniki had a population of 363,987. The Thessaloniki prefecture has a population of 1,057,825.
Thessaloniki is a busy, vibrant city and Greece's second major economic, industrial, commercial and cultural centre, as well as a major transportation hub for southeastern Europe. Its commercial port is of a great importance for Greece and its southeast European hinterland, while the city's two state universities are host to the largest student population in Greece. As a cultural centre, it is renowned for its large number of Byzantine architectural monuments, as well as remaining Ottoman, and Jewish structures. The city is well-known for its International Trade Fair, which takes place at the beginning of every September; in the country's political life this is also traditionally where the Prime Minister gives his annual governmental speech outlining plans for the year to come. Thessaloniki has also becme known for the Thessaloniki International Film Festival, which has been described as the most significant cultural event in South Eastern Europe, drawing both local and international luminaries of theatre and film. It also hosts the largest bi-annual meeting of the Greek diaspora.
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