Agia Paraskevi

Agia Paraskevi (Greek: Αγία Παρασκευή, Agía Paraskeví) is a suburb and a municipality in the northeastern part of the Athens agglomeration, Greece. It is part of the North Athens regional unit. Agia Paraskevi was named after the main church of the town, which is dedicated to Saint Paraskevi of Rome.

For other uses, see Agia Paraskevi (disambiguation).

Agia Paraskevi Αγία Παρασκευή
Agia Paraskevi Location within the region
Coordinates: 38°0.7′N 23°49.2′E
Country	Greece
Administrative region	Attica
Regional unit	North Athens
Government
• Mayor	Yannis Stathopoulos (ND)
Area
• Municipality	7.935 km^2 (3.064 sq mi)
Elevation	206 m (676 ft)
Population  (2011)[1]
• Municipality	59,704
• Municipality density	7,500/km^2 (19,000/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+2 (EET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+3 (EEST)
Postal code	153 xx, 154 xx
Area code(s)	210
Vehicle registration	I
Website	www.agiaparaskevi.gr

Geography

Agia Paraskevi is situated near the northern edge of the forested Hymettus mountain range, 9 km (6 mi) northeast of Athens city centre. The municipality has an area of 7.935 km².[2] The built-up area of Agia Paraskevi is continuous with those of the neighbouring Cholargos, Chalandri and Gerakas. Besides the central area around the Agia Paraskevi Square, Agia Paraskevi consists of 7 districts: Kontopefko, Nea Zoi, Tsakos, Stavros, Aigiannis, Pefkakia and Paradeisos. The nuclear research center Demokritos, which hosts the sole nuclear reactor in Greece, is situated in Agia Paraskevi. It is also home of the Greek Ministry of Agriculture.

The main thoroughfare is Mesogeion Avenue, which connects Agia Paraskevi with central Athens. The eastern beltway Motorway 64 passes through the southeastern part of the municipality. The municipality is served by several metro stations and a suburban railway station, located in adjacent municipalities.

History

Agia Paraskevi was part of the community of Chalandri until 1931, when it became a separate community. It became a municipality in 1963.[3] Formerly a farmers' village, it experienced much suburban development since the 1950s.

In 1993, there was considerable opposition from inhabitants of the suburb to the construction of the Hymettus ring road (Motorway 64). The ring road was to form a major highway on the mountainside linked directly to the Motorway 6, and the construction of both motorways were to commence immediately. The realization that this plan would demand the felling of a considerable number of trees, as well as spurring an increase in noise pollution, predictably aroused the opposition of the local population, who requested a different solution: a covered road. However, the government would not reverse the decision and, in fact, sent bulldozers to the mountainside. This led to a riot in April, 1993. Thousands of people travelled up the mountainside and faced the bulldozers, forcing the drivers to leave. At length police arrived and managed to force the demonstrators off the site; eventually the construction of the two highways began, and was completed in 2001. The road was covered only at a small section, that running over the Deree College.

Cultural clubs and activities

Block of apartments at the Kontopefko area.

The following cultural clubs, activities and workshops are available in Agia Paraskevi:

Municipal Conservatory, Art Workshops, Choir, Philharmonic Orchestra, Theater Group & Drama Club, Dance Classes, Film Club and Open Air Cinema, Open University courses and various other cultural clubs that organize events throughout the year.[4]

Sports

The football team of the city is Agia Paraskevi F.C., known as "Santa", attracting devoted fans. During the Olympic games in 2004, a part of the historical Marathon passed through Aghia Paraskevi over Mesogeion avenue. Agia Paraskevi hosts also two basketball clubs with earlier presence in the higher national divisions, Basketball Agia Paraskevi and GS Agia Paraskevi.And P.A.O.D.A.P. city organization with individual sports like tennis, fighting sports and more.

Sport clubs based in Agia Paraskevi
Club	Founded	Sports	Achievements
Agia Paraskevi F.C.	1931	Football	Presence in Gamma Ethniki
GS Agia Paraskevi	1976	Basketball	Earlier presence in A1 Ethniki women
Basketball Agia Paraskevi	1986	Basketball	Earlier presence in A2 Ethniki men
A.E. Agias Paraskevis	1995	Volleyball	A'2 National Women’s Volley League
Olympiada Agias Paraskevis	1996	Futsal	Panhellenic title in futsal
A.O.Pegasus Agias Paraskevis	2007	Kids Sports Academy	First Youth Futsal Adidas Cup

Education

The Lycée Franco-Hellénique Eugène Delacroix (LFH), a French international school, is in the town and The American College of Greece.[5]

In Agia Paraskevi, there are the following public educational institutes and schools: 13 kindergarten schools, 11 elementary schools, 6 junior high schools (including one for the hearing impaired) and 5 high schools (including one for the hearing impaired). There are also 3 vocational-technical high schools (including one for the hearing impaired).[6]

Twin towns

Agia Paraskevi is twinned with:

• Saint-Brieuc, France (May 1992)
• Grocka, Serbia [7] (May 1994)
• Geroskipou, Cyprus (May 1998) [8]

Historical population

Year	Population
1981	32,904
1991	47,463
2001	56,836
2011	59,704

References

1. "Απογραφή Πληθυσμού - Κατοικιών 2011. ΜΟΝΙΜΟΣ Πληθυσμός" (in Greek). Hellenic Statistical Authority.
2. "Population & housing census 2001 (incl. area and average elevation)" (PDF) (in Greek). National Statistical Service of Greece. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2015-09-21.
3. "EETAA local government changes". Retrieved 28 June 2020.
4. tupos. ΠΟΛΙΤΙΣΜΟΣ. www.paodap.gr (in Greek). Retrieved 2018-07-01.
5. "Contacter le lycée Archived 2015-02-06 at the Wayback Machine." Lycée Franco-Hellénique Eugène Delacroix. Retrieved on 17 January 2015. " rues Chlois & Trikalon B.P. 60050 15301 Aghia Paraskevi-Athènes" - Address in Greek Archived 2015-03-19 at the Wayback Machine: "Χλόης & Τρικάλων B.P. 60050 15301 Aγία Παρασκευή-Αθήνα"
6. Σχολεία. www.agiaparaskevi.gr (in Greek). Retrieved 2018-07-01.
7. Stalna konferencija gradova i opština Archived 2012-02-06 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved on 2007-06-18.
8. "Twinning Cities" (in Greek). Archived from the original on 2017-09-28. Retrieved 2017-07-16.

External links

• City of Agia Paraskevi official website (in Greek)
• FACEBOOK OFFICIAL GROUP of Agia Paraskevi (in Greek)