Photo: Kaktsis Ioannis · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Zeitenlik Museum

Museum in the French section of the Zeitenlik Allied cemetery on the Macedonian Front and on the life of French soldiers in Thessaloniki, 1915–1918.

Opening hoursFree admission

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About the museum

Zeitenlik in Ampelokipi, Thessaloniki, is the largest military necropolis in the country. It was created in 1916 and, in addition to the French section, includes British, Italian, Russian and Serbian sections. In the French section 8,310 soldiers rest, of whom 6,347 are from metropolitan France, 1,222 from Senegal, 398 from Madagascar and Indochina and 343 from North Africa.

The museum opened in the French section after a complete renovation carried out from 2011 to 2013, initiated by the Consulate General of France in Thessaloniki as part of the events marking one hundred years since the First World War. It opened to the public in May 2014.

The exhibition has three sections. The first concerns the cemetery itself, the second gives a brief picture of the Macedonian Front, and the third presents Thessaloniki and the everyday life of around 300,000 French soldiers who passed through the city in 1915–1918, as well as their contribution to the port, road construction, the fight against disease and agriculture. Visitors can access videos and translations via QR codes, and a documentary is screened. At the cemetery entrance there is a sign with a map to help locate a grave.

Highlights

Largest military necropolis in Greece
Three sections: the cemetery, the Macedonian Front, Thessaloniki 1915–1918
QR codes with videos and translations
Screening of a documentary
Free admission

Permanent exhibition

Μόνιμη έκθεση του Μουσείου του Ζέιτενλικ – Three sections on the cemetery, the Macedonian Front and the life of French soldiers in Thessaloniki, with QR codes and a documentary.

Founded: 2014
Operated by: Γενικό Προξενείο της Γαλλίας στη Θεσσαλονίκη