page_title: Great Thessaloniki Fire of 1917
section_title: Reconstruction
hierarchical_section_title: Great Thessaloniki Fire of 1917 / Reconstruction
caption_attribution_description: English: Ernest Hebrard's proposal for a Civil Plaza in Thessaloniki, Greece.
context_page_description: The Great Thessaloniki Fire of 1917 destroyed two thirds of the city of Thessaloniki, the second-largest city in Greece, leaving more than 70,000 homeless. 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 burned areas Thessaloniki and for the future expansion of the city. His designs 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.
context_section_description: Only a few days after the fire, the Venizelos government announced that it would not allow reconstruction of the city as it was.  They intended to create a new city instead, according to an urban plan. The Minister of Transports Alexandros Papanastasiou was given the lead and founded the "International Committee for the New Plan of Thessaloniki".  He appointed as chairman the French architect and archeologist Ernest Hébrard, who supervised development of the plan. Delivered to the General Administration of Macedonia on 29 June 1918, the plan was to redevelop the city along European lines.  It went through many changes, but established improved transportation routes, squares and other amenities to support a large population.
caption: Hebrard's proposal for a Place Civique, 1918
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