Nea Smyrni (, ''Néa Smýrni'', "New Smyrna") is a municipality and a town in South Athens, Greece. At the 2021 census, it had 72,853 inhabitants. It was named after the former Greek city

Smyrna Smyrna ( ; , or ) was an Ancient Greece, Ancient Greek city located at a strategic point on the Aegean Sea, Aegean coast of Anatolia, Turkey. Due to its advantageous port conditions, its ease of defence, and its good inland connections, Smyrna ...

(today's

İzmir İzmir is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, third most populous city in Turkey, after Istanbul and Ankara. It is on the Aegean Sea, Aegean coast of Anatolia, and is the capital of İzmir Province. In 2024, the city of İzmir had ...

in Turkey), whence many refugees arrived and settled in the Nea Smyrni area following the 1922 catastrophe of Asia Minor and the Burning of Smyrna which left big parts of the city's Christian population massacred by Turkish mobs and military, during the Greco-Turkish war.

History

Although there are few details about the ancient history of the area, in 2012, during works, ancient graves were unearthed on the side of Agias Sofias Street. The specific manner of burial is known as 'burial by the roadside'. These ancient findings have already been unveiled by public authorities and are able to be visited. Nea Smyrni began to be inhabited at the beginning of the 20th century. Up until that point, it had not been inhabited in a systematic manner. At the time, it was intersected by an avenue which connected Athens and Phalerum, the ancient port of the city. After the Asia Minor Disaster, the government decided to construct a settlement in the area for the

refugees A refugee, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), is a person "forced to flee their own country and seek safety in another country. They are unable to return to their own country because of feared persecution as ...

from

. Construction of this settlement began in 1926. In 1928, the population was just 210. By 1933, the area had become a true town with a population of 6,500. By 1940, there were 15,000 inhabitants. In 1944, with the end of the war, Nea Smyrni became 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' ...

. Nea Smyrni was the site of multiple clashes between

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

forces and ELAS resistance forces during the so-called Dekemvriana of 1944. After the

civil war A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

, Nea Smyrni was incorporated into Athens.

Geography

Nea Smyrni is located about southwest of central Athens. The municipality has an area of 3.524 km². Its built-up area is continuous with those of central Athens and the neighboring suburbs. It is the second-most densely populated municipality in Greece, following

Kallithea Kallithea (Greek language, Greek: Καλλιθέα, meaning "beautiful view") is a suburb in Athens#Athens Urban Area, Athens agglomeration and a municipality in South Athens (regional unit), south Athens regional unit. It is the eighth larges ...

, and one of the most densely populated cities in the world. The main thoroughfare is Andrea Syngrou Avenue, which forms the northwestern border of the municipality and connects it with central Athens and the coast.

Alsos Neas Smyrnis

Alsos Neas Smyrnis (Alsos meaning 'grove' or 'small wood') has an area of fifty acres and is bounded by Eleftheriou Venizelou, Ephesou, Kordeliou and Patriarchou Ioakeim III Avenues. The Alsos consists mainly (20%) of woodland trees (

Aleppo pine ''Pinus halepensis'', commonly known as the Aleppo pine, also known as the Jerusalem pine, is a pine native to the Mediterranean region. It was officially named by the botanist Philip Miller in his 1768 book ''The Gardener's Dictionary''; he pro ...

, stone pine,

cypress Cypress is a common name for various coniferous trees or shrubs from the ''Cupressus'' genus of the '' Cupressaceae'' family, typically found in temperate climates and subtropical regions of Asia, Europe, and North America. The word ''cypress'' ...

etc.) and ornamental trees (20%). In addition, most of this green space is covered in shrubs (

cranberry Cranberries are a group of evergreen dwarf shrubs or trailing vines in the subgenus ''Oxycoccus'' of the genus ''Vaccinium''. Cranberries are low, creeping shrubs or vines up to long and in height; they have slender stems that are not th ...

, velvetleaf, myoporum and pyracantha). Today, conifers make up about 60% of the plant capacity. The plant material of the Alsos consists mainly of

monoculture In agriculture, monoculture is the practice of growing one crop species in a field at a time. Monocultures increase ease and efficiency in planting, managing, and harvesting crops short-term, often with the help of machinery. However, monocultur ...

and introduced plants planted in very high density. Two fountains complete the architectural makeup of the area. The whole park is surrounded by iron railings.

Climate

Nea Smyrni, owing to its proximity to the Athens Riviera, 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 ...

. It has mild winters and hot summers, with particularly warm summer nights. The driest months are July and August while the rainiest period is during November and December. Nea Smyrni falls in 10b

hardiness zone A hardiness zone is a geographic area defined as having a certain average annual minimum temperature, a factor relevant to the survival of many plants. In some systems other statistics are included in the calculations. The original and most widely ...

Sporting teams

The sport clubs based in Nea Smyrni are Panionios G.S.S., multisport club founded in Smyrna, in 1890 and AONS Milon, multisport club founded in 1928.

Sites of interest

Nea Smyrni Stadium Nea Smyrni Stadium (''Greek (language), Greek: Στάδιο Νέας Σμύρνης'') is a multi-purpose stadium in Nea Smyrni, Greece. It is currently used mostly for football (soccer), football matches and is the home stadium of Panionios FC, ...

, built in 1939, renovated in 1988. Panionios FC plays in the stadium. * Nea Smyrni Indoor Hall, holds up to 1,832 persons. *Nea Smyrni Square (Greek: ''Πλατεία Νέας Σμύρνης'' ''Platía Néas Smýrnis''). *Nea Smyrni Park, a 5-hectare centrally located park with about 40% trees. *Estia Nea Smyrni, a cultural association.

Neighbourhoods

* Faros * Agia Fotini * Alsos * Kendro (Center) * Chrisaki * Agia Paraskevi * Mitilineika * Loutra * Ano Nea Smyrni (Upper Nea Smyrni)

Churches

* Agia Fotini * Agia Paraskevi * Agioi Anargiroi * Agios Charalambos * Agios Andreas * Agioi Theodoroi ( Greek Old Calendarists) * Taxiarches (cemetery church) Nea Smyrni is the seat of a similarly-titled metropolitan diocese. The current

Metropolitan bishop In Christianity, Christian Christian denomination, churches with episcopal polity, the rank of metropolitan bishop, or simply metropolitan (alternative obsolete form: metropolite), is held by the diocesan bishop or archbishop of a Metropolis (reli ...

of Nea Smyrni is Simeon Koutsas.

Twin towns – sister cities

Sisian,

Armenia Armenia, officially the Republic of Armenia, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of West Asia. It is a part of the Caucasus region and is bordered by Turkey to the west, Georgia (country), Georgia to the north and Azerbaijan to ...

(since 2004)

Historical population

References

{{Authority control Municipalities of Attica Populated places in South Athens (regional unit) Occupation of Smyrna