Agia Paraskevi ( el, Αγία Παρασκευή, ''Agía Paraskeví'') is a suburb and a

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

in the northeastern part of the

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

agglomeration,

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders ...

. 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 Saint Paraskevi of Rome (also Parasceva) is venerated as a Christian martyr of the 2nd century. She was arrested and tortured under the reign of the Roman Emperor Antoninus Pius for her refusal to worship idols. Though he eventually released her ...

Geography

Agia Paraskevi is situated near the northern edge of the forested

Hymettus Hymettus (), also Hymettos (; el, Υμηττός, translit=Ymittós, pronounced ), is a mountain range in the Athens area of Attica, East Central Greece. It is also colloquially known as ''Trellós'' (crazy) or ''Trellóvouno'' (crazy mountain) ...

mountain range, northeast of Athens city center. The municipality has an area of 7.935 km². The built-up area of Agia Paraskevi is continuous with those of the neighboring

Cholargos Holargos ( el, Χολαργός, also: ''Cholargos'') is a suburb of Athens, Greece, located northeast of the city center and about away from Syntagma Square. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Papagou-Chola ...

Chalandri Chalandri ( el, Χαλάνδρι, Ancient Greek: Φλύα, ''Phlya'') is a suburb in the northern part of the Athens agglomeration, Greece. It is a municipality of the Attica region. Geography Chalandri is a suburb in Northern Athens, around fr ...

and

Gerakas Gerakas ( el, Γέρακας) is a suburb of Athens and a former municipality in East Attica, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Pallini, of which it is the seat and a municipal unit. In antiquity Gera ...

. 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 National Center of Scientific Research Demokritos, which hosts the sole

nuclear reactor A nuclear reactor is a device used to initiate and control a fission nuclear chain reaction or nuclear fusion reactions. Nuclear reactors are used at nuclear power plants for electricity generation and in nuclear marine propulsion. Heat fr ...

in Greece, is situated in Agia Paraskevi. It is also home of the Greek Ministry of

Agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people t ...

. 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

until 1931, when it became a separate community. It became a municipality in 1963. 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 Noise pollution, also known as environmental noise or sound pollution, is the propagation of noise with ranging impacts on the activity of human or animal life, most of them are harmful to a degree. The source of outdoor noise worldwide is ma ...

, 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 traveled 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 Deree College is a private, non-profit, liberal arts college, in Athens, Greece. Its 64-acre main campus is located in the northeastern Athenian suburb of Agia Paraskevi. Deree College is a division of the Boston-based not-for-profit organization ...

Cultural clubs and activities

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.

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 Agia Paraskevi over Mesogeion avenue. Agia Paraskevi hosts also two basketball clubs with earlier presence in the higher national divisions,

Basketball Agia Paraskevi Basketball Agia Paraskevi ( el, Καλαθοσφαίριση Αγίας Παρασκευής - Kalathosfairisi Agia Paraskevi), officially abbreviated as K.A.P. (Κ.Α.Π.), is a Greek basketball club that is based in Agia Paraskevi, Athens. It wa ...

and

GS Agia Paraskevi G.S. Agia Paraskevi ( el, Γυμναστικός Σύλλογος Αγίας Παρασκευής) is a Greek basketball club based in Agia Paraskevi, Athens. It was founded in 1976 and is active in women basketball. The club had earlier long-tim ...

.And P.A.O.D.A.P. city organization with individual sports like

tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball ...

fighting sports Combat ( French for ''fight'') is a purposeful violent conflict meant to physically harm or kill the opposition. Combat may be armed (using weapons) or unarmed ( not using weapons). Combat is sometimes resorted to as a method of self-defense, or ...

and more.

Education

The

Lycée Franco-Hellénique Eugène Delacroix Lycée Franco-Hellénique Eugène Delacroix (LFH/LFHED el, Ελληνογαλλική Σχολή Ευγένιος Ντελακρουά) is a private French international school in Agia Paraskevi, Athens, Greece.The American College of Greece. 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).

Twin towns

Agia Paraskevi is twinned with: * Saint-Brieuc, France (May 1992) *

Grocka Grocka ( sr-cyr, Гроцка, ) or Grocka na Dunavu ( sr-cyr, Гроцка на Дунаву, ) is a municipality of the city of Belgrade. According to the 2011 census results, the municipality has 83,906 inhabitants. Location and geography Th ...

, Serbia (May 1994) * Geroskipou, Cyprus (May 1998)

Historical population

References

External links

City of Agia Paraskevi official website

FACEBOOK OFFICIAL GROUP of Agia Paraskevi
{{Kallikratis-Attica Municipalities of Attica Populated places in North Athens (regional unit)