Presentation of the IMMA Calendar for 2026

The presentation of the new Calendar of the Foundation of the Museum of the Macedonian Struggle and the Modern History of Macedonia (IMMA) for the year 2026 took place on Tuesday, 20 January 2026, in the packed “Alexandros Haitoglou” Hall of the Museum of the Macedonian Struggle.

The luxurious, bilingual (Greek–English) Calendar is entitled “Memorabilia of Thessalonians. Illustrated Postcards of Thessaloniki (1896–1912)” and features rare postcards of Thessaloniki from the period 1896–1912, drawn from the personal collection of collector George Thomareis. These postcards highlight the transformations and changes in the city’s urban environment, its people, and its landmarks through rare visual material enriched with scientifically documented texts by distinguished researchers. They constitute unique historical testimonies of Thessaloniki prior to the great fire of 1917, which radically altered the city’s landscape.

At the opening of the event, the Director of IMMA, Ms Athina Pavlidou, emphasized that this year’s Calendar is a work dedicated to the memory of the city and its successive transformations, an unconventional journey through time that invites the reader to rediscover Thessaloniki of the early 20th century.

The collector, Mr George Thomareis, in his address, presented the connection between the postcards of the period and the city’s own historical trajectory, explaining that postcard collections featuring Thessaloniki have always been popular among collectors and that postcards from this early period were produced using lithographic printing. He noted that these particular postcards are, in his view, the most outstanding in the collection, as they are chronologically limited, having been printed and circulated only for a short period of time. He also pointed out that “thanks to postcards, we can admire and remember the magnificent seafront with its two-storey buildings, the White Tower with its fortifications, the Avenue of the Exoches, as well as Ethnikis Amynis Street with its beautiful mansions and villas, and much more,” since after the great fire of 1917, this beautiful city ceased to exist in that form.

The Director of the Centre for Research on Macedonian History and Documentation (KEMIT) of IMMA, Professor at the University of Macedonia, Ms Stavroula Mavrogeni, who also served as the scientific editor of the publication, stressed in her speech the particular importance of postcards as highly complex historical sources. She praised the initiative of the annual publication of the Calendar, which provides space for younger scholars alongside more senior ones to test and expand their knowledge by conducting in-depth research into the history of Macedonia. She also described the Calendar as a “multifaceted and strategically significant practice” for an organization and as a cultural intervention that strengthens the institutional identity and temporal continuity of IMMA, while also functioning as an effective tool for communication and outreach.

The publication includes texts by: Mr Yiannis Epameinondas, architect, historian, researcher, former Director of the Thessaloniki Branch of MIET; George Thomareis, civil engineer and collector; Evangelos Kansizoglou, historian and researcher at IMMA; Vassilis Kolonas, Emeritus Professor of the Department of Architecture at the University of Thessaly; Thaleia Mantopoulou-Panagiotopoulou, Emeritus Professor of the Department of Visual and Applied Arts of the School of Fine Arts at Aristotle University of Thessaloniki; Stavroula Mavrogeni, Professor of the Department of Balkan, Slavic and Oriental Studies at the University of Macedonia and Director of KEMIT–IMMA; Yiannis Megas, civil engineer and author; and Dr Konstantinos S. Papanikolaou, historian and scientific associate of IMMA.

Scientific support for the project was provided by academics Ms Stavroula Mavrogeni and Mr Ioannis Stefanidis, Professor of Diplomatic History at the Faculty of Law of Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. Editorial supervision was undertaken by Athina Pavlidou, Dr Konstantinos S. Papanikolaou, and Evangelos Kansizoglou, while graphic design was carried out by Ms Marietta Panidou. The overall coordination of the project was assumed by the Director of IMMA, Ms Athina Pavlidou.

A greeting was sent to the event by the Deputy Minister of the Interior responsible for Macedonia–Thrace Affairs, Mr Konstantinos P. Gioulekas. Among those in attendance were the Head of the Prime Minister’s Office in Thessaloniki, Mr Yiannis Papageorgiou; the Very Reverend Protopresbyter Fr Athanasios Tsigkos, representing His All-Holiness the Metropolitan of Thessaloniki, Mr Philotheos; the Chairman of the Board of the Development Organization of the Region of Central Macedonia, Mr Thanos Begkas; Regional Councillor Ms Olya Vasilaki-Karozi; the Director of NASVE, Captain Dimitrios Patsikas; the Director of the War Museum of Thessaloniki, Colonel Athanasios Papathanasiou; the President of FAATH, Mr George Konstantinidis; the President of the Board of IMMA, Mr Nikolaos K. Margaropoulos, and members of the Foundation’s Board; the President of the Association “Friends of the Museum of the Macedonian Struggle,” Ms Maria Sarigiannidou, and members of its Board; academics, journalists, and representatives of the city’s institutions. Also present were representatives of the Haitoglou family, which fully funds the annual publication of the Calendar: Mr Nikolaos Haitoglou, CEO of Haitoglou Bros S.A. and Member of the Board of IMMA, and Ms Lena Haitoglou, Member of the Honorary Advisory Committee of IMMA.

The IMMA Calendar for 2026 is available at the Museum of the Macedonian Struggle’s gift shop and e-shop.