Aspropyrgos (, ) is a western suburb, in the

Athens metropolitan area The Athens metropolitan area () spans within the Attica region and consists of 58 municipalities plus parts of East Attica and West Attica, having reached a population of 3,638,281 according to the 2021 census. The municipalities of Athens an ...

and a municipality in the

West Attica West Attica () is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the region of Attica. The regional unit covers the western part of the agglomeration of Athens, and the area to its west. Administration The regional unit West Attica is subdivi ...

regional unit in the

Thriasio Plain The Thriasio Plain () is a plain in western Attica within Athens metropolitan area in Greece. It is bounded by Mount Egaleo to the east, Mount Parnitha to the north, Mount Pateras to the west, and the Bay of Elefsina to the south. History ...

Attica Attica (, ''Attikḗ'' (Ancient Greek) or , or ), or the Attic Peninsula, is a historical region that encompasses the entire Athens metropolitan area, which consists of the city of Athens, the capital city, capital of Greece and the core cit ...

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 ...

. The

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' ...

had a population of 31,381 at the 2021 census. It has an area of 101.983 km².

Etymology

The name 'Aspropyrgos' is derived from the Greek words , meaning 'white', and , meaning 'castle' or 'tower'.

Geography

Aspropyrgos is located 15 km northwest of the city center of

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 ...

in the

. It is 5 km northeast of

Elefsina Elefsina () or Eleusis ( ; ) is a suburban city and municipality in Athens metropolitan area. It belongs to West Attica regional unit of Greece. It is located in the Thriasio Plain, at the northernmost end of the Saronic Gulf. North of Elefsina ...

, near the

Saronic Gulf The Saronic Gulf ( Greek: Σαρωνικός κόλπος, ''Saronikós kólpos'') or Gulf of Aegina in Greece is formed between the peninsulas of Attica and Argolis and forms part of the Aegean Sea. It defines the eastern side of the isthmus of C ...

coast. Mount

Parnitha Mount Parnitha (, , Katharevousa and ''Parnis''/''Parnes''; sometimes Parnetha) is a lightly forested mountain range north of Athens, the highest on the peninsula of Attica, with an elevation of 1,413 m, and a summit known as Karavola (Καρα� ...

forms its northern border, and the

Aigaleo Aigaleo or Egaleo ( ) is a town and a suburban municipality in the western part of the Athens urban area, belonging to the West Athens regional administrative unit. It takes its name from Mount Aigaleo, whose name comes from the words αίγα/a ...

hills its southeastern border. The

Military Airbase lies to its west. The main street is Dimokratias ('Democracy') Avenue. Aspropyrgos can be accessed from the A6 motorway (Elefsina - Athens International Airport) and the A65 motorway (Ano Liosia - Aspropyrgos). It is also accessible through A6 exit 4. (The industrial area is in the southeastern part of Aspropyrgos. The Aspropyrgos railway station is served by

Proastiakos The Proastiakos (; "suburban") is Greece's commuter rail service, run by Hellenic Train, on rail infrastructure owned by the Hellenic Railways Organisation (OSE) (lines) and GAIAOSE (buildings and Trains). These services connect a participating ...

trains from the

Athens International Airport Athens International Airport ''Eleftherios Venizelos'' , commonly initialised as AIA, is the largest international airport in Greece, serving the city of Athens and region of Attica. It began operation on 28 March 2001 (in time for the 2004 Su ...

Kiato Kiato () is a town in the northern part of Corinthia in the Peloponnese, Greece. It is the seat of the municipality of Sikyona. Kiato is situated on the Gulf of Corinth, near the mouth of the river Asopos. It has much tourist activity mainly in ...

(Peloponnese).

Climate

Aspropyrgos has a

hot semi-arid climate A semi-arid climate, semi-desert climate, or steppe climate is a dry climate sub-type. It is located on regions that receive precipitation below potential evapotranspiration, but not as low as a desert climate. There are different kinds of sem ...

(

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

: ''BSh'') closely bordering a

hot-summer mediterranean A Mediterranean climate ( ), also called a dry summer climate, described by Köppen and Trewartha as ''Cs'', is a temperate climate type that occurs in the lower mid-latitudes (normally 30 to 44 north and south latitude). Such climates typica ...

(''Csa'') climate, with mild winters and hot summers. Owing to its location in the

the area is particularly vulnerable to high temperatures and has experienced some of the highest temperatures ever recorded in Greece and Continental Europe. In June 2007 the meteorological station of the Aspropyrgos Municipality located in the Germanika area of Aspropyrgos registered 47.5 °C. Also, in June 2017, July 2017 and August 2021, Aspropyrgos recorded temperatures of around 45 °C.

Industry

Aspropyrgos consists of a residential downtown area and an industrial area where a number of storage warehouses, metal recycling facilities, logistics handlers, wholesalers, small construction companies and other industrial businesses operate. The

Aspropyrgos Refinery HELLENiQ ENERGY Holdings S.A., formerly known as Hellenic Petroleum S.A. (), is one of the largest oil companies in Southeast Europe and with its roots dating to 1958 with the establishment of the first oil refinery in Aspropyrgos, Greece. It a ...

, south of the city and next to the sea, has been producing oil for many years. It is the largest in Greece (together with the Eleusis refinery), with an annual capacity of . As a consequence, pollution has been a problem for years. The refinery includes depots in the southern and eastern parts, and some in the western part and at a dock to the southwest.

Population

Notable People

* Anastasios Karamanos *

Klavdia Klavdia (; or ) is a village in the Larnaca District of Cyprus, located west of Larnaca. Prior to the 1974 Turkish Invasion of Cyprus and consequent displacement, the village was inhabited solely by Turkish Cypriots Turkish Cypriots or Cypr ...

George Koskotas George Koskotas (; born 5 October 1954, Aspropyrgos) is a Greek former banker and publisher whose ascension into a media magnate in the 1980's resulted in a financial scandal that brought down the PASOK government in 1989. Early life Koskotas w ...

* Evangelos Liakos * Pavlos Mamalos * Kyriakos Michas

References

External links

Official website
{{Kallikratis-Attica Municipalities of Attica Populated places in West Attica