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A bit of a trek up from the town but a delightful place. Fine mosaics with a quiet ambience. One of the nicest in Thessalonica, but to be honest the "sights" are not really all that special for a town with such a distinguished history. A pleasant place to visit nevertheless.
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Date of experience: September 2020
2 Helpful votes
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The Church of Osios David is a late 5th-century Byzantine church in the upper town, sitting in a shaded courtyard with an expansive view over the lower town and harbor. According to tradition, the church was founded by Theodora (the daughter of the emperor Maximianus who ruled 286 - 305). She supposedly used a Roman bathhouse as a Christian shrine and concealed its mosaic to dispel her mother's suspicions of her conversion to Christianity. A church was founded in the late 5th century probably dedicated to the prophet Zacharias, replacing the bathhouse (and reusing its stones). The church became the katholikon (public chapel) of the Latomos Monastery. The modest church was built in a cross plan (without a dome), with a porch on the front. The interior walls are covered with richly-colored 12th-century frescoes. I was most impressed by the 5th-century mosaic of the Theophany over the apse: Christ holds a Greek scroll, “Behold our God, in whom we hope and we rejoice in our salvation, that he may grand rest to this home”, and is surrounded by symbols of the four evangelists (an angel, eagle, lion, and bull, symbolizing Matthew, John, Mark and Luke). The four rivers of Paradise (the Phison, Geon, Tigris and Euphrates) flow beneath Christ's feet, their waters feeding the river Chobar (or Jordan). After the Ottoman conquest, the building was converted into a mosque (probably in the 16th century), the art was covered with plaster, and a minaret was added at the south-west corner bay (the base remains). Osios David was reconsecrated (and given its present name) as a Greek Orthodox church in 1921 after the Greek liberation of Thessaloniki. The frescoes and mosaics were restored, and the church was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Sites in 1988. The church is open every day except Monday from 10am -5pm; it closes at 2pm on Sunday. When I visited there was no entry fee, but I left a donation with the lady who was the caretaker.…
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Date of experience: July 2019
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Eventually found it on our second walk down from Trigonion Tower . Great small old church with great view . Well worth going to
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Date of experience: September 2019
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This tiny church in the Upper City is charming and has a wonderful, very old mosaic which is worth the stop on its own.
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Date of experience: September 2019
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A tiny monastery , not well maintained - still special ! No explanations in English , no one is there to talk to visitors ...
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Date of experience: July 2019
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