Work on the construction of the Archaeological Museum of Thessaloniki began in February 1961, to designs by the architect Patroklos Karantinos. The building was inaugurated on 27th October 1962, during the celebrations of the fiftieth anniversary of the liberation of Thessaloniki. In 1971, the displays were brought to completion in all the rooms. They included sculpture, a prehistoric collection, miniature art of the Archaic and Classical periods, and the brilliant group of finds from the tombs at Derveni, which was first presented to the public on the day of the inauguration ceremony. A few years later, in 1978, the astonishing discoveries at Vergina led to the first changes in the display: finds from the royal tombs were exhibited in the rooms housing the prehistoric collection and miniature art as part of the exhibition "Treasures of Ancient Macedonia". The treasures from Vergina, and other precious discoveries of the 70's, made the construction of an extension to the Museum inevitable: the new wing was inaugaurated in July 1980 with the exhibition "Alexander the Great". This same year saw the begininng of the excavation of the cemetey at Sindos, with its rich finds of gold, and the "Sindos" exhibition was opened to the public in October 1982.
Opening Hours from 15 of June until 31 October 2004 Monday: 10.30-22.00 Tuesday-Sunday: 08.00-22.00 15 August, 28 October: 08.00-22.00
