Byzantine Museum of Veroia: Precious fragments of local Byzantine heritage

It is a stone construction with a rectangular floor plan, a typical example of industrial architecture of its time, which received the European Cultural Heritage Award “Europa Nostra Award” for its exemplary restoration in 2001. It is located in the conservation area of the Kyriotissa district, next to the south-eastern part of the ancient fortification. 

Along with the recently restored Ottoman houses, built on top of the tower and part of the south-eastern walls of Veroia, which currently house the seat of the Ephorate of Antiquities of Imathia (Regional Archaeological Service), they form a timeless historical ensemble.

The life and art of Veroia – from early Christianity until the liberation of the city from the Ottomans in 1912 – unfolds inside the Markos flour mill, with the Museum building itself presented as the last exhibit on this historical timeline.

The permanent exhibition includes part of the Museum’s important collection of wooden portable images, wall paintings and mosaic floors discovered in churches and secular buildings, manuscript codes and early printed books, works of pottery and small crafts, coins and wood carvings, burial finds, architectural sculptures and marble inscriptions.

The first section of the permanent exhibition, located on the first floor of the Museum, entitled “Veroia, a region of the Byzantine Empire”, highlights the area’s Byzantine cultural heritage, while establishing Veroia’s position within this specific historical context. The exhibition on the second floor is dedicated to the city and the everyday life of its people, while the third floor highlights the religious practices of the Byzantine world. The ground floor of the Museum hosts itinerant exhibitions centering on a wide range of topics, such as archaeology, fine arts, photography, etc. while the courtyard and basement halls facilitate events.