Kallithea (
GreekGreek , an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages, is the language of the Greeks. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. In its ancient form, it is the language of classical...
: Καλλιθέα
map, meaning "good view") is the 8th biggest municipality in
GreeceGreece , officially the Hellenic Republic , is a country in southeastern Europe, situated on the southern end of the Balkan Peninsula....
(109,609 inhabitants, 2001 census) and the 4th biggest in Greater Athens (following
AthensAthens , the capital and largest city of Greece, dominates the Attica periphery; as one of the world's oldest cities, its recorded history spans around 3,400 years....
itself,
PiraeusPiraeus is a city in the periphery of Attica, Greece, and a municipality within Athens urban area, located 10 km southwest of its center....
and
PeristeriPeristeri , older forms Peristerio and Peristerion is a suburban municipality in Athens, Greece, located about 5 km NW of the downtown area. The municipality is bordered by the Cephissus/Cephissos River, Athinon Avenue , Chaidari in the west and Petroupoli in the northwest, with a size of around...
). Additionally, it is the
second-most densely populatedPopulation density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans. It is a key term used in geography....
municipality in Greece (after
Neapoli, ThessalonikiNeapoli is a Borough of Thessaloniki. The municipal population is 31,830 . The land area is only 1.168 km², resulting in a population density of , making it the most densely populated municipality in Europe. Neapoli is located in the north sector Thessaloniki and the neighbouring...
), with 23,080.4 inhabitants / km².
Location
The centre of Kallithea (Davaki Square) lies at a distance of 3 km to the south of the Athens city centre (Syntagma Square) and 3 km to the north-east of the Piraeus city centre (Korai Square) (photo 1). Kallithea extends from the Filopappou and Sikelia hills in the north to
Phaleron BayFaliron Bay, is a bay almost 8 km directly SW of Athens overlooking Andreas Syngrou Avenue. The bay is flanked by Neo Faliro at the Peace and Friendship Stadium and a harbor street encircling the western part of the bay, Poseidonos Avenue along with Kallithea in the north and Palaio Faliro in the...
in the south ; its two other sides consist of Syngrou Avenue to the east (border to the towns of
Nea SmyrniNea Smyrni or Nea Smirni is a southern suburb of Athens, Greece. Nea Smyrni is located about 5 km SW of downtown Athens, about 5 km SW of Kifissias Avenue, W of Vouliagmenis Avenue, about 6 km E of Piraeus, and NE of Poseidonos Avenue.The area was once partly made up of farmlands,...
and Palaio
FaliroFaliro is a seaside suburb 8 km southwest of downtown Athens. There are two communities sharing the name: Palaio and Neo Faliro. Palaio Faliro is a municipality, whereas Neo Faliro is part of the town of Piraeus...
), and the Ilisos River to the west (border to the towns of
TavrosTavros , is a suburb in the southwestern part of Athens, Greece. Athens is not far to the east and is 4 km from the town centre and 3 km from the boundary...
and
MoschatoMoschato , older form Moschaton is a suburb in the south southern part of Athens, Greece. Phaleron Bay lies to the south in which between 2002 and 2004 extended land...
) (photo 2).
The site on which the city was developed covers the biggest part of the area to the south of Athens, protected in ancient times (5th century BC) by the Long Walls to the west and the Phaleron Wall to the east (photo 3). Somewhere within this area the ancient town of Xypete lay. The town and its citizens are mentioned among other places in
PlatoPlato , was a Classical Greek philosopher, mathematician, writer of philosophical dialogues, and founder of the Academy in Athens, the first institution of higher learning in the Western world...
's Dialogues.
The 1896 and 2004 Athens Olympics
The plans for the establishment of the new city of Kallithea were officially approved in December 1884. On the longitudinal axis of the town (Thisseos Avenue), the Athens to Phaleron tramway once ran, from the beginning (1850) to (1955) and the end of its operations. Near the centre of the town the Shooting Range (Skopeftirion) was built to house events of the first modern Olympic Games , the
1896 Summer OlympicsThe 1896 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the I Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event which was celebrated in Athens, Greece, from April 6 to April 15, 1896. It was the first Olympic Games held in the Modern era...
, and these first modern games took place in three venues: the refurbished ancient stadium of Athens (
Panathinaiko StadiumThe Panathinaiko or Panathenaic Stadium , also known as the Kallimarmaro in Athens is the only major stadium in the world built entirely of white marble...
) 2 km NE of Kallithea, the Faliron Velodrome (currently Karaiskaki Stadium) 2 km SW of Kallithea, and the Kallithea Shooting Range (Skopeftirion).
Events of the Athens 2004 Olympic Games were also sited in the district of Kallithea, notably handball and
TaekwondoTaekwondo is a Korean martial art and the national sport of South Korea. In Korean, tae means "to strike or break with foot"; kwon means "to strike or break with fist"; and do means "way," "method," or "art." Thus, "taekwondo" may be loosely translated as "the way of the foot and fist" or "the...
in the new Sports Pavilion (Faliro) by the bottom of Syngrou Avenue, and beach volleyball in the Olympic Beach Volleyball Centre on Kallithea bay(Tzitzifies).
The growth of the city
Between the first modern games (1896) and the recent (2004) Olympic Games in the city, Kallithea grew significantly. Initially the tramway depot and workshop were built here in 1910, followed by the Harokopios Graduate School (1925) and the Panteios Graduate School of Political Sciences (1928).
In the 1920s the town was flooded by thousands of refugees following the
Greco-Turkish War (1919-1922)The Greco-Turkish War of 1919–1922, also called the War in Asia Minor or the Greek campaign of the Turkish War of Independence or The Asia Minor Catastrophe, was a series of military events occurring during the partitioning of the Ottoman Empire after World War I between May 1919 and October 1922...
, the Asia Minor Catastrophe (1922), and the
Treaty of LausanneThe Treaty of Lausanne was a peace treaty signed in Lausanne, Switzerland, that settled the Anatolian and East Thracian parts of the partitioning of the Ottoman Empire by annulment of the Treaty of Sèvres that was signed by the Constantinople-based Ottoman government; as the consequence of the...
(1923). These refugees arrived in Kallithea mainly from the south
Black Seaur a loser!The Black Sea is an inland sea bounded by Europe, Anatolia and the Caucasus and is ultimately connected to the Atlantic Ocean via the Mediterranean and Aegean Seas and various straits. The Bosporus strait connects it to the Sea of Marmara, and the strait of the Dardanelles connects it to...
(
PontusPontus or Pontos is a historical Greek designation for a region on the southern coast of the Black Sea, located in modern-day northeastern Turkey. The name was applied to the coastal region in antiquity by the Greeks who colonized the area, and derived from the Greek name of the Black Sea: Pontos...
), from
ancient GreekAncient Greece is the civilisation belonging to the period of Greek history lasting from the Greek Dark Ages ca. 1100 BC and the Dorian invasion, to 146 BC and the Roman conquest of Greece after the Battle of Corinth. It is generally considered to be the seminal culture which provided the...
cities such as Sinope (now Sinop,
TurkeyTurkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey
, is a Eurasian country that stretches across the Anatolian peninsula in Western Asia and Thrace in the Balkan region of southeastern Europe...
), Sampsus (now
SamsunSamsun is a city in northern Turkey, on the coast of the Black Sea, with a population of 725,111 as of 2007. It is the capital city of Samsun Province and an important port...
, Turkey), Kerasus (now
GiresunGiresun is the provincial capital of Giresun Province in the Black Sea Region of northeastern Turkey, about west of the city of Trabzon.-Etymology:...
, Turkey), Trapezous-Trebizond (now
TrabzonTrabzon, historically known as Trapezus and Trebizond, is a city on the Black Sea coast of north-eastern Turkey and the capital of Trabzon Province. Trabzon, located on the historical Silk Road, became a melting pot of religions, languages and culture for centuries and a trade gateway to Iran in...
, Turkey), Tripolis (now
TireboluTirebolu is a district and town of Giresun Province, Turkey, the Ancient Greek and Byzantine Greek Tripolis.-Geography:...
, Turkey), Argyroupolis (now
GümüshaneGümüşhane is a city and the capital district of Gümüşhane Province in the Black Sea region of Turkey. The city lies along the Harşit River, at an elevation of 5,000 feet , about 40 miles southwest of Trabzon. According to the 2000 census, population of the district is 46,656 of which 30,270 live...
, Turkey) and other remnants of the late
Byzantine EmpireThe Byzantine Empire or Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire during the Middle Ages, centered on the capital of Constantinople, and ruled by Emperors in direct and de jure succession to the ancient Roman Emperors...
.
A few had arrived earlier (1919) from the north and east (Russian) coasts of the
Black Seaur a loser!The Black Sea is an inland sea bounded by Europe, Anatolia and the Caucasus and is ultimately connected to the Atlantic Ocean via the Mediterranean and Aegean Seas and various straits. The Bosporus strait connects it to the Sea of Marmara, and the strait of the Dardanelles connects it to...
, from places such as Odessos (
OdessaOdessa or Odesa is the administrative center of the Odessa Oblast located in southern Ukraine. The city is a major seaport located on the shore of the Black Sea and the fourth largest city in Ukraine with a population of 1,029,000 .Odessa was founded by Hacı I Giray, the Khan of Crimea, in 1240...
), Marioupolis (Mariupol', the
Sea of AzovThe Sea of Azov is the world's shallowest sea, linked by the Strait of Kerch to the Black Sea to the south. It is bounded on the north by Ukraine, on the east by Russia and on the west by the Crimean peninsula. The Don River flows into it.-Geology and bathymetry:The sea is long and wide and has...
) and elsewhere, after the failed attempt of the western allies (Greece included) against the young
BolshevikThe Bolsheviks, originally also Bolshevists were a faction of the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labour Party which split apart from the Menshevik faction at the Second Party Congress in 1903...
state during the
Russian Civil WarThe Russian Civil War was a multi-party war that occurred within the former Russian Empire after the Russian provisional government collapsed and the Soviets under the domination of the Bolshevik party assumed power, first in Petrograd The Russian Civil War (1917–1923) was a multi-party war that...
.
Black Seaur a loser!The Black Sea is an inland sea bounded by Europe, Anatolia and the Caucasus and is ultimately connected to the Atlantic Ocean via the Mediterranean and Aegean Seas and various straits. The Bosporus strait connects it to the Sea of Marmara, and the strait of the Dardanelles connects it to...
immigrants of Greek origin also settled in Kallithea in the 1930s, as a result of the change of Soviet policy toward ethnic groups. Their origins were mainly in the east coast of the Black Sea (
BatumiBatumi is a seaside city on the Black Sea coast and capital of Adjara, an autonomous republic in southwest Georgia. It has a population of 121,806 ....
,
SukhumiSukhumi is the capital of Abkhazia, a disputed region on the Black Sea coast, which has been recognized as an independent state by Russia, Venezuela and Nicaragua, and is regarded by all other UN member states as an autonomous republic within Georgia...
,
NovorossiyskNovorossiysk is a city in southern Russia, the main Russian port on the Black Sea, in Krasnodar Krai. It is one of the few cities honoured with the Soviet title of the Hero City. Population: 281,400 ; -History:...
,
AnapaAnapa originally is a seaport for the Natkhuay tribe Adyghe people , and now a town in Krasnodar Krai, Russia, located on the northern coast of the Black Sea near the Sea of Azov...
etc.)
The first refugees settled originally near the site of the first Olympic shooting range (1896), until they were gradually transferred to new dwellings. After its evacuation the building bound with the shooting range served as a school, until the
NaziNazism, known officially in German as National Socialism , is the totalitarian ideology and practices of the Nazi Party or National Socialist German Workers’ Party under Adolf Hitler, and the policies adopted by the dictatorial government of Nazi Germany from 1933 to 1945.Nazism is often considered...
Occupation of 1941, when it was converted to a prison. The prison of Kallithea was demolished in 1966 ;among others, fighters of the Greek Resistance and victims of the
Greek Civil WarThe Greek Civil War was fought from 1946 to 1949 between the Greek governmental army, backed by the United Kingdom, United States, and the Democratic Army of Greece , the military branch of the Greek Communist Party , backed by Bulgaria, Yugoslavia and Albania...
had been jailed there, such as
Nikos BeloyannisNikos Beloyannis was a Greek communist and resistance leader born in Amalias in 1915. He was jailed in the Akronauplia prison by the Ioannis Metaxas nationalist regime in the 1930s and transferred to the Germans after the Nazi Occupation of the country...
.
In the 1990s, after the dissolution of the
Soviet UnionThe Union of Soviet Socialist Republics was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. The name is a translation of the , tr. Soyuz Sovetskikh Sotsialisticheskikh Respublik, abbreviated СССР, SSSR. The common short name is Soviet Union, from , Sovetskiy Soyuz...
, a new wave of Greek immigrants arrived in Kallithea from the east coast of the
Black Seaur a loser!The Black Sea is an inland sea bounded by Europe, Anatolia and the Caucasus and is ultimately connected to the Atlantic Ocean via the Mediterranean and Aegean Seas and various straits. The Bosporus strait connects it to the Sea of Marmara, and the strait of the Dardanelles connects it to...
, from the
CaucasusThe Caucasus or Caucas is a geopolitical region between at the border of Europe and Asia. It is home to the Caucasus Mountains, including Europe's highest mountain ....
highlands in
GeorgiaGeorgia Georgia Georgia is a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Situated at the juncture of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded to the west by the Black Sea, to the north by Russia, to the south by Turkey and Armenia, and to the east by Azerbaijan...
, as well as from distant Greek settlements in
KazakhstanKazakhstan , officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a country situated in Eurasia that is ranked as the ninth largest country in the world. It is also the world's largest landlocked country. Its territory of 2,727,300 km² is greater than Western Europe...
and
UzbekistanUzbekistan, officially the Republic of Uzbekistan , is a doubly landlocked country in Central Asia, formerly part of the Soviet Union...
where their Black Sea Greek ancestors were expelled during Stalin's regime in the 1930s.
Until 2004, south Kallithea (Tzitzifies) housed the only horse track in Greece (Ippodromos - Hippodrome) , which later moved to Markopoulon, near Eleftherios Venizelos Airport. The same area of the city , Tzitzifies, is associated with the development of Greek folk music , particularly
rebetikoRebetiko, plural rebetika, , occasionally transliterated as Rembetiko, is the name for a type of Greek urban folk music. A roots music form of sorts, the sound of the genre reflects the combined influences of European and Middle Eastern music...
and later
laïkóLaïko tragoudi is a style of Greek urban folk music, especially the Greek music popular after the end of the 1950s, when a new generation of musicians developed from the rebetiko folk music of the time a characteristic new style, the modern laïkó tragoudi.Although laïko tragoudi evolved from...
). Popular composers and singers once performed here ;
Markos VamvakarisMarkos Vamvakaris , was a rebetiko musician. He is universally referred to by rebetiko writers and fans simply by his first name, Markos...
,
Vassilis TsitsanisVassilis Tsitsanis was a Greek songwriter and bouzouki player. He became one of the leading Greek composers of his time and is widely regarded as one of the founders of modern Rebetika. Tsitsanis wrote more than 500 songs and is still remembered as an extraordinary bouzouki...
, Yannis Papaioannou,
Marika NinouMarika Ninou , was an Armenian-Greek rembetiko singer, born Evangelia Atamian .-Biography:...
,
Sotiria BellouSotiria Bellou was a famous Greek singer and performer of the Greek rebetiko type of music .-Biography:Bellou was born in Halia of Euboia. She was the oldest of five siblings of a wealthy family. Her father, who was particularly fond of her, was an Orthodox priest...
,
Manolis ChiotisManolis Chiotis was a famous Greek Rebetiko composer, singer and musician.-Biography:He was born on 21 March 1921 in Thessaloniki and died in 1970, allegedly on his very birthday. He started first on the violin and eventually moved on to the guitar and the bouzouki...
, Mary Linda, Yorgos Zambetas,
Stelios KazantzidisStelios Kazantzidis was a prominent Greek singer. Between the 1950s and 1990s he was considered the voice of the Greek diaspora...
,
MarinellaMarinella is a popular Greek singer whose career has spanned several decades.-Early life:She was born Kyriaki Papadopoulou, in the city of Thessaloniki in northern Greece. She released her first song in 1957, "Nitsa Elenitsa"...
, Poly Panou, and Viki Moscholiou.
Kallithea houses two universities (Harokopion and Panteion), numerous cultural associations and several sport clubs, the most well known of which are
Kallithea FCKallithea F.C. is a Greek professional football club based in Kallithea, currently competing in the Greek second division .-Background:...
(soccer) and
EsperosEsperos is a sports club in Kallithea , founded in 1943 during the Nazi occupation of the country ....
(basketball, volleyball, handball, and also soccer in an earlier period).
Transportation
The city is accessed from the east by Syngrou Avenue, from the south by Poseidonos Avenue, from the north and west by Kifissos Avenue/GR-1, and from the Athens centre by Thisseos Avenue (via Syntagma, Amalias, Syngrou). The metropolitan railway (line 1 stations Kallithea and Tavros), the tramway (stations Kallithea and Tzitzifies), and numerous bus and trolley-bus lines along the Thisseos, Syngrou and Posseidonos Avenues connect Kallithea to almost every destination in the Athens basin.
Sites of interest
- Harokopion University. http://www.hua.gr/index.php
- Panteion University. http://www.panteion.gr/
- Municipal Gallery, housed in the Laskaridou building, one of the first dwellings in the city.
- Aghia Eleousa church of the late Byzantine period.
- "Kallithea monument
The Kallithea monument is a tomb of a family from Istria , which was excavated in Kallithea . The monument itself dates back to the 4th century BC and contains a polychrome frieze. It is currently located at the Piraeus Archaeological Museum in Piraeus....
", a 4th century BC family tomb, one of the most impressive exhibits of the Piraeus Archaeological Museum.
- Faliro Coastal Zone Olympic Complex
The Faliro Coastal Zone Olympic Sports Complex is a complex in the coastal zone of Athens, Greece. It consists of two indoor arenas and a beach volleyball stadium, and it hosted Handball, Taekwondo, and volleyball events at the 2004 Summer Olympics...
on Kallithea beach from the Sports Pavilion (Faliro) to the Olympic Beach Volleyball Centre and the delta of the River Ilisos.
- "Argonauts
In Greek mythology, the Argonauts were a band of heroes who, in the years before the Trojan War, accompanied Jason to Colchis in his quest to find the Golden Fleece. Their name comes from their ship, the Argo, which was named after its builder, Argus. "Argonauts", therefore, literally means...
-Comnenus" (Argonaftes-Komnini) fraternity of the PontusPontus or Pontos is a historical Greek designation for a region on the southern coast of the Black Sea, located in modern-day northeastern Turkey. The name was applied to the coastal region in antiquity by the Greeks who colonized the area, and derived from the Greek name of the Black Sea: Pontos...
Greeks, aiming at the study and preservation of the history and traditions of their fatherlands.
- "Constantinoplian Society" (Syllogos Konstantinoupoliton) of the Constantinople
Constantinople was the imperial capital of the Roman Empire , the Byzantine/Eastern Roman Empire , the Latin Empire , and the Ottoman Empire...
Greeks that settled in Kallithea forced to abandon IstanbulIstanbul is the largest city in Turkey and fifth largest city proper in the world with a population of 12.6 million. Istanbul is also a megacity, as well as the cultural and financial centre of Turkey. The city covers 39 districts of the Istanbul province...
after the Greco-Turkish War (1919-1922)The Greco-Turkish War of 1919–1922, also called the War in Asia Minor or the Greek campaign of the Turkish War of Independence or The Asia Minor Catastrophe, was a series of military events occurring during the partitioning of the Ottoman Empire after World War I between May 1919 and October 1922...
as well as in subsequent deteriorations of Greco-Turkish relationsGreek-Turkish relations have been marked by alternating periods of mutual hostility and reconciliation ever since Greece won its independence from the Ottoman Empire in 1821...
.
- Monument in memory of the Pontus
Pontus or Pontos is a historical Greek designation for a region on the southern coast of the Black Sea, located in modern-day northeastern Turkey. The name was applied to the coastal region in antiquity by the Greeks who colonized the area, and derived from the Greek name of the Black Sea: Pontos...
Greeks in the center of the city (Davaki Square and Gardens).
- Municipal Stadium "Gregoris Lambrakis
Gregoris Lambrakis was a Greek politician, physician, athlete, and member of the faculty of the School of Medicine at the University of Athens.-Early life:...
", home to Kallithea FCKallithea F.C. is a Greek professional football club based in Kallithea, currently competing in the Greek second division .-Background:...
since 1972.
Historical population
| Year | Municipal population | Change | Density |
|---|
| 1981 |
117,319 |
- |
24,703.9/km² |
| 1991 |
114,233 |
-3,086/-2.63% |
24,054.1/km² |
| 2001 |
109,609 |
-4,624/-4.05% |
23,080.4/km² |
|
North: AthensAthens , the capital and largest city of Greece, dominates the Attica periphery; as one of the world's oldest cities, its recorded history spans around 3,400 years....
, TavrosTavros , is a suburb in the southwestern part of Athens, Greece. Athens is not far to the east and is 4 km from the town centre and 3 km from the boundary...
|
|
| West: Tavros Tavros , is a suburb in the southwestern part of Athens, Greece. Athens is not far to the east and is 4 km from the town centre and 3 km from the boundary...
, MoschatoMoschato , older form Moschaton is a suburb in the south southern part of Athens, Greece. Phaleron Bay lies to the south in which between 2002 and 2004 extended land...
|
Kallithea |
East: AthensAthens , the capital and largest city of Greece, dominates the Attica periphery; as one of the world's oldest cities, its recorded history spans around 3,400 years....
, Nea SmyrniNea Smyrni or Nea Smirni is a southern suburb of Athens, Greece. Nea Smyrni is located about 5 km SW of downtown Athens, about 5 km SW of Kifissias Avenue, W of Vouliagmenis Avenue, about 6 km E of Piraeus, and NE of Poseidonos Avenue.The area was once partly made up of farmlands,...
, Palaio FaliroPalaio Faliro or Paleo Faliro , older forms Palaion Faliron or Paleon Faliron, is a suburb in the southern part of Athens, Greece. The area is famous for its beaches , forming Athens' nearest beach and Piraeus' only beach...
|
|
South: Faliron Bay Faliron Bay, is a bay almost 8 km directly SW of Athens overlooking Andreas Syngrou Avenue. The bay is flanked by Neo Faliro at the Peace and Friendship Stadium and a harbor street encircling the western part of the bay, Poseidonos Avenue along with Kallithea in the north and Palaio Faliro in the...
|
|
Notable people
- Phoebos Delivorias, singer and songwriter
- Stamatis Kraounakis
Stamatis Kraounakis is one of the most important contemporary Greek music composers. His works have characterised the decades of 1980s and 1990s in Greece. He is also a lyricist, singer, producer and writer. He was born and lives in Athens and has studied Political Science in Panteion University...
, composer
External links