The Municipality of Thessaloniki has announced the go ahead for Greece’s first crematorium. The site selected is located near Thermi in eastern Thessaloniki, and the total cost, for the study and construction, is estimated at around 3 million euro.
Until now, hundreds of bodies have had to be transported abroad for cremation every year in the United Kingdom, France, Italy, with Bulgaria being the nearest country that offers the option. With the cost of being cremated abroad ranging from 2,500 to 6,000 euros, Thessaloniki’s crematorium will offer a much cheaper option, at under 2,000 euros, than a traditional burial, which starts at well over 3,000 euros.
Lawmakers only approved legislation allowing for the cremation of the dead to take place in Greece in 2006, the first time in the country’s history, even though cremation has been allowed since 1884 in the UK.
