Aristotle University History Archive Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (AUTh)

History and Founding

The History Archive of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (AUTh) was established within the Faculty of Philosophy during the university's earliest years of operation (the university itself was founded in 1925 and opened in 1926). The archive's holdings were systematically classified and catalogued over subsequent decades, with the process significantly advanced by Professor Apostolos Vakalopoulos, a noted scholar of modern Greek history. The archive is housed in a dedicated room within the Library of Modern and Contemporary History, on the fourth floor of the new Faculty of Philosophy building on the AUTh campus.

Collections and Holdings

The collections include original historical documents acquired through donation or purchase, manuscript copies, history maps, microfilms, and rare documents from archives and libraries in Greece and abroad, all related to modern and contemporary Greek history. Among the notable holdings are pages from the Thessaloniki newspaper Hermes and other city newspapers published between 1876 and 1901, statutes and regulations, council reports, and materials from charitable societies. A significant collection of microfilms covers manuscripts, documents, and rare printed material from various institutions. A large press clippings collection drawn from Greek and foreign newspapers and journals published during 1968–1974 documents the Greek diaspora abroad. The archive also holds the Miltos Spyrolilios Archive, containing original documents and handwritten copies from the Archive of the Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs relating to Albania and Northern Epirus up to the 1920s.

Relevance to Journalism and Media History

The archive's holdings of nineteenth-century Thessaloniki newspapers, including the newspaper Hermes (1876–1901), provide primary source material for historians of Greek-language journalism in the late Ottoman period. The press clippings collection covering 1968–1974 documents Greek diaspora journalism and international press coverage of Greece during the military junta era.

Access and Usage

The collections are available to researchers, postgraduate students, and doctoral candidates for consultation. Access is by appointment through the Faculty of Philosophy at Aristotle University of Thessaloniki.