Nea Smyrni
Encyclopedia
Nea Smyrni is a southern suburb of Athens
Athens
Athens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...

, Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....

. Nea Smyrni is located about 5 km SW of downtown Athens, about 5 km SW of Kifissias Avenue
Kifissias Avenue
Kifissias Avenue is one of the longest avenues in the Greater Athens area. Its total length is about 20 km, beginning 4 km northeast of downtown Athens and ending by the municipal boundary of Nea Erythraia north of Kifissia...

, W of Vouliagmenis Avenue
Vouliagmenis Avenue
Vouliagmenis Avenue is one of the longest avenues in the Greater Athens area, stretching from central Athens to the seaside resort of Vouliagmeni. The total length is 21 km. The avenue begins at Athanasios Diakos Street and Michalakopoulou Street and the southbound portion of the avenue...

, about 6 km E of Piraeus
Piraeus
Piraeus is a city in the region of Attica, Greece. Piraeus is located within the Athens Urban Area, 12 km southwest from its city center , and lies along the east coast of the Saronic Gulf....

, and NE of Poseidonos Avenue
Poseidonos Avenue
Poseidonos Avenue is a coastal road in Piraeus, Greece , that runs from Faliron to Glyfada, and beyond. Several Greek films were shot on the road, particularly between the 1950s and the 1980s, along with television shows since the 1980s. The road turns into GR-91 after Glyfada, a dangerous road...

.

The area was once partly made up of farmlands, with woods dominating the landscape, and its mixed farming included pastures, vegetables, and groves ; forests lay to the east. Following the Population exchange between Greece and Turkey
Population exchange between Greece and Turkey
The 1923 population exchange between Greece and Turkey was based upon religious identity, and involved the Greek Orthodox citizens of Turkey and the Muslim citizens of Greece...

 in 1922, a number of refugees principally from Smyrna
Smyrna
Smyrna was an ancient city located at a central and strategic point on the Aegean coast of Anatolia. Thanks to its advantageous port conditions, its ease of defence and its good inland connections, Smyrna rose to prominence. The ancient city is located at two sites within modern İzmir, Turkey...

, (today's İzmir
Izmir
Izmir is a large metropolis in the western extremity of Anatolia. The metropolitan area in the entire Izmir Province had a population of 3.35 million as of 2010, making the city third most populous in Turkey...

), arrived and settled in the southwestern part of Athens, which became Nea Smyrni. Many of its inhabitants, including the soccer team of Panionios
Panionios
Panionios GSS , the Pan-Ionian Gymnastic Association of Smyrna, is a Greek multi sport club founded in 1890. Originally based in Smyrna/Izmir, the club was uprooted in the population exchange between Greece and Turkey following the Asia Minor Catastrophe in 1922...

, moved here from Smyrna, transforming the plain into an urban area.

The district is mainly made up of residential areas with a few business areas particularly on Syngrou Avenue. Its two main streets have been linked since 1995 with interchanges and the roads connecting with Hymittos Street and Syngrou Avenue to the north. The Athens Industrial Area lies to the north.

Nea Smyrni has schools, lyceums, gymnasia, banks, post offices and squares (plateies
Plateia
Plateia or platia is the Greek word for town square. Most Greek and Cypriot cities have several town squares which are a point of reference in travelling and guiding...

) with a good number of high-end bars, cafes and shops.

Sporting Teams

  • Panionios F.C. plays in the Super League Greece
    Super League Greece
    The Superleague Greece is the highest professional football league in Greece. It was formed on July 16, 2006 and replaced Alpha Ethniki at the top of the Greek football league system. The league consists of 16 teams and runs from August to May, with teams playing 30 games each...

  • Panionios BC plays in the A1 Division
    A1 Ethniki
    The Greek Basket League , commonly referred to as the Greek Basketball League or Greek Basketball Championship, is the highest professional basketball league in Greece. It is run by HEBA...

  • Panionios Water Polo plays in the A1 Division
    A1 Ethniki Water Polo
    The A1 Ethniki , often referred to as the Greek Water Polo League, is the highest professional water polo league in Greece. It is run by the Hellenic Swimming Federation...

  • AONS Milon (Greek: ΑΟΝΣ Μίλων)

Sites of interest

  • Nea Smyrni Stadium
    Nea Smyrni Stadium
    Nea Smyrni Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in Athens, Greece. It is currently used mostly for football matches and is the home stadium of Panionios FC which plays for the Greek Super League. The stadium is located in the southern suburb of Nea Smyrni , which is the heart of the team's fanbase...

    , built in 1939, renovated in 1988. Panionios FC plays in the stadium.
  • Nea Smyrni Indoor Hall, holds up to 1,832 persons, website: http://www.stadia.gr/nsmyrni-b/nsmyrni-b.html
  • Nea Smyrni Square (Greek: Πλατεία Νέας Σμύρνης)
  • Nea Smyrni Central Park (Greek: Άλσος Νέας Σμύρνης)
  • Estia (Greek: Εστία)

Historical population

Year Population
1928 210
1933 6.500
1940 15.000
1951 22.074
1961 32.865
1971 42.512
1981 67.408
1991 69.749
2001 73.986


It is the fourth-most densely populated municipality in Greece (following Neapoli
Neapoli, Thessaloniki
Neapoli is a suburb of the Thessaloniki Urban Area and was former municipality in the regional unit of Thessaloniki, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Neapoli-Sykies, of which it is a municipal unit...

, Kallithea
Kallithea
Kallithea is the 8th largest municipality in Greece and the 4th biggest in the Athens urban area...

, and Ampelopikoi
Ampelokipoi, Thessaloniki
Ampelokipoi is a suburb of the Thessaloniki Urban Area and was a former municipality of the regional unit of Thessaloniki, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality of Ampelokipoi-Menemeni, of which it is a municipal unit. The population is 40,959, as of 2001,...

).
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