On 23 October 1944 Larissa came out of the German occupation. The city remembers the day in two parts: tonight with a memorial evening at the Museum of National Resistance, and tomorrow, Friday, with the official ceremony of the Municipality of Larissa at the Heroes' Memorial on Frourio hill.
Tonight at 18:00, at the Museum of National Resistance
The evening is called «War, Resistance and the Liberation of Larissa» and takes place at the Museum of National Resistance of Larissa, at 42 Ioustinianou Street. It is organised by the Friends of the Museum of National Resistance of Larissa, the museum itself and the team of the inter-school programme «Democracy and Education» of the 5th Junior High School and the 5th High School of Larissa, together with the municipality's culture department.
Students will read texts about the years of the occupation and the struggle for freedom. Two videos will be shown: one with historical images from the occupation and the liberation of the city, the other with an excerpt from the theatre piece «The Martyred Villages of Thessaly», made by the pupils of the programme. The joint choir of the two schools will sing songs of the National Resistance.
Friday 23 October, the ceremony at the memorial
On Friday morning people gather at the entrance of the Town Hall:
- 11:00 the students, 11:15 guests, organisations and residents
- 11:30 the procession sets off, led by the municipal band, along Papanastasiou, Archaiou Theatrou, Venizelou and Dionysiou Filosofou streets to the memorial
- 11:45 memorial prayer and 11:55 the speech by the president of the City Council, Garyfallia Karystianou-Golfinopoulou
- 12:05 laying of wreaths, a minute's silence and the national anthem, ending at 12:15
After the ceremony there is a reception at the «Frourio» venue, open to everyone.
The city's two liberations
Larissa has two liberation days in its calendar. The first is 31 August 1881, when the Greek army entered the city after the Convention of Constantinople, without a battle. The second is 23 October 1944, the end of the occupation for the city, which is marked these days.
Friday's procession passes the First Ancient Theatre and climbs Frourio hill, where the ancient acropolis of Larissa stood. The walk is worth it even if you skip the ceremony, because from the hill you look down on the Pineios river and the old town.
The museum on Ioustinianou Street is in the schoolyard of the 5th Junior High and High School. If you go tonight, the address is 42 Ioustinianou Street.
