The city (Greek Name: Thessalonikè) is situated in the outlet of the valley of Vardar. It was established towards 315 Before Christ by the Macedonian Cassandre who gave him the name of his wife " Thessalonike ", itself sister of Alexander the Great. The city took a lot of importance during the Roman domination thanks to the construction of "Via Egnatia" which united It with Dynachium, on the coast Adriatic.
Salonika knew then the successive dominations of Byzantium, crusaders (kingdom of Thessalonica) and, finally, Turks which seized it in 1430 and gave him the name of "Selanik". it returned to Greece in 1912, at the end of the first Balkan war.
In XIX ° century, the port connût a big industrial and commercial development. It is thus quite naturally that it was chosen, as stopover for its liners, by the company of Shipping companies
An office of distribution, open to the end of 1856 (or in November, 1857 according to Langlois and François) was converted in office of direction on January 1st, 1880. This office was closed in August, 1914.

(spring: Robert Dessert)