AGIA PARASKEVI

'Agia Paraskevi' (Greek: Αγία Παρασκευή, named after Saint Paraskevi) is a suburb of Athens, Greece. Agia Paraskevi is in the northeast of Athens, about ten kilometers away from the city. It is linked to Athens by Mesogeion Avenue, a major road in the greater Athens area.
Up until the 1950s the suburb was sparsely inhabited with most of its people practicing agriculture. In the 1960s, the rapid economic development that Greece was experiencing, created an influx of immigrants in the big cities and a burst of construction activity. Thus, the population of suburban Athens (and Agia Paraskevi) dramatically increased; a process that went on in the 1980s and 1990s. (see table below). Today, Agia Paraskevi (like most of the suburbs of Athens) is densely populated and suffers from heavy traffic and air pollution.
Agia Paraskevi consists of 6 districts: Kontopefko (Greek Κοντόπευκο for short pine tree, Ancient/Katharevousa Kontopefkon), Nea Zoi (Νέα Ζωή Greek for new life), Tsakos (Τσακός), Agios Ioannis (Άγιος Ιωάννης the Greek equivalent of Saint John), Pefkakia and Paradisos (Heaven). In the downtown area is the central Agia Paraskevi Square with a beautiful cathedral dedicated to the Orthodox Saint Agia Paraskevi, after whom the suburb is named.
Agia Paraskevi operates the nuclear research center Demokritos which hosts the sole nuclear reactor in Greece. It is also home of the Greek Ministry of Agriculture.
The climatic conditions in Agia Paraskevi are typical Mediterranean: summers are hot and dry, winters are mild. Due to this fact, people suffering from serious illnesses used to be brought here, as part of their treatment in order to recover, in the years before the great urban development.
Built at the foot of mount Hymettus, Agia Paraskevi is one of the few suburbs of Athens to have plenty of trees and offers good opportunities for leisure activities such as trekking, jogging and picnic. A beautiful route on the mountain leads, through the pine trees, to the small nun monastery of Saint John who is known as "The hunter" in this area. There is a great view from this height to all Athens as far as Piraeus. The town is constantly developing and every evening it attracts people from all over Attica as it is full of cafes, bars, small clubs and restaurants. There are also cinemas and shopping centers.
The football team of the city is Agia Paraskevi F.C. but it is called "Santa" and it has many devoted fans. During the Olympic games in 2004, a part of the historical Marathon passed through Agia Paraskevi, in Mesogeion avenue and this was deemed a great moment for the municipality.
Agia Paraskevi has schools, lyceums, gymnasia, churches, a post office, a municipal library and squares including Agia Paraskevi Square.

Contents

The riot of 1993

Transportation

Historical population

External links

The riot of 1993

In 1993, there was an opposition from the inhabitants of the suburb against the construction of the Hymettus ring road. The Hymettus ring road would be a big highway on the mountain linked directly to Attiki Odos. The construction of both the ring and Attiki Odos was due to commence immediately. The realization of this plan would demand lots of trees to be cut down as well as an increase in noise pollution and predictably caused the opposition of the local population who asked for a different solution: a covered road. However, the government would not turn back and in fact, it sent bulldozers to the mountain. This led to a riot in April, 1993. Thousands of people went up the mountain and faced the bulldozers, forcing the drivers to leave. Finally, police forces 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 the small part over the Deree College.

Transportation

Although there is a very satisfactory highway connection, Agia Paraskevi is still poorly linked to other areas of Attica via public transport means. A major reason for this is the town's geografic position. There are few bus lines leading to the center of Athens and another one going to Agioi Anargyroi. There is no metro station and the nearest one is at Chalandri.

Historical population

Year	Municipal population	Change	Density
1981	32,904	-	4,700.57/km²
1991	47,463	14,559/44.25%	6,780.43/km²
2001	56,836	9,373/19.75%	8,119.43/km²

External links

★ Paraskevi&country=GR Mapquest - Agia Paraskevi, street map not available

★ Coordinates:

'Northwest:' Chalandri	'North:' Cholargos
'West:' Cholargos and Neo Psychiko	'Agia Paraskevi'	'East:' Glyka Nera
	'South:' Neo Psychiko