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

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

in the northeastern part of the

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

agglomeration,

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

. 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 on multiple occasions for her Christianity and was eventually beheaded by the Roman governor Tarasius. She is invoked for the heali ...

Geography

Agia Paraskevi is situated near the northern edge of the forested

Hymettus Hymettus (), also Hymettos (; ; ), 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); the latter originates from the French "très ...

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 Cholargos (, also: ''Holargos'') is a town and a suburb in the Athens urban area, Greece, located northeast of the Athens city proper and about away from Syntagma Square. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality ...

Chalandri Chalandri (, Ancient Greek: Φλύα, ''Phlya'', also ''Halandri'', ''Khalandri'') is a town and 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 No ...

and

Gerakas Gerakas () is a town, 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 Gerakas consti ...

. 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 Nuclear fission, fission nuclear chain reaction. They are used for Nuclear power, commercial electricity, nuclear marine propulsion, marine propulsion, Weapons-grade plutonium, weapons ...

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

Agriculture Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...

. The main thoroughfare is Mesogeion Avenue, which connects Agia Paraskevi with central Athens. The eastern beltway A62 motorway 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 A62 Hymettus Ring Road. The ring road was to form a major highway on the mountainside linked directly to the A6, 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, or sound pollution, is the propagation of noise or sound with potential harmful effects on humans and animals. The source of outdoor noise worldwide is mainly caused by machines, transport and propagation systems.Senate Publi ...

, 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 A riot or mob violence is a form of civil disorder commonly characterized by a group lashing out in a violent public disturbance against authority, property, or people. Riots typically involve destruction of property, public or private. The p ...

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.

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 The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of kilometres ( 26 mi 385 yd), usually run as a road race, but the distance can be covered on trail routes. The marathon can be completed by running or with a run/walk strategy. There ...

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 ( - 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 was founded in 1986, and so far it has twice played in the Greek 2n ...

and

GS Agia Paraskevi G.S. Agia Paraskevi () 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-time presence in A1 Ethniki women. The most successful season of the club was t ...

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

tennis Tennis is a List of racket sports, racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles (tennis), singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles (tennis), doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket st ...

fighting sports Combat (French for ''fight'') is a purposeful violent conflict between multiple combatants with the intent to harm the opposition. Combat may be armed (using weapon A weapon, arm, or armament is any implement or device that is used to det ...

and more.

Education

The

Lycée Franco-Hellénique Eugène Delacroix Lycée Franco-Hellénique Eugène Delacroix (LFH/LFHED ) is a private International school, French international school in Agia Paraskevi, Athens, Greece.

(LFH), a French international school, is in the town and 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 Saint-Brieuc (, Breton language, Breton: ''Sant-Brieg'' , Gallo language, Gallo: ''Saent-Berioec'') is a city in the Côtes-d'Armor Departments of France, department in Brittany (administrative region), Brittany in northwestern France. History ...

, France (May 1992) *

Grocka Grocka ( sr-cyr, Гроцка, ) or Grocka na Dunavu ( sr-cyr, Гроцка на Дунаву, ) is a Subdivisions of Belgrade, municipality of the city of Belgrade. According to the 2022 census results, the municipality has 82,810 inhabitants. L ...

, Serbia (May 1994) *

Geroskipou Geroskipou (; ) is a coastal village in Cyprus, east of Paphos. Its current population is approximately 7,000 and it is the second largest municipality in the Paphos District. Yeroskipou, with its remarkable five-domed Byzantine church of Agia Pa ...

, 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)