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Acharnes

Coordinates:38°5′N23°44′E/ 38.083°N 23.733°E/38.083; 23.733
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Acharnes
Αχαρνές
View to Mount Parnitha in Acharnes
View to Mount Parnitha in Acharnes
Acharnes is located in Greece
Acharnes
Acharnes
Location within the region
Coordinates:38°5′N23°44′E/ 38.083°N 23.733°E/38.083; 23.733
CountryGreece
Administrative regionAttica
Regional unitEast Attica
Government
• MayorSpyros Vrettos[1](since 2019)
Area
• Municipality149.96 km2(57.90 sq mi)
• Municipal unit146.41 km2(56.53 sq mi)
Elevation
186 m (610 ft)
Population
(2021)[2]
• Municipality108,169
• Density720/km2(1,900/sq mi)
• Municipal unit
100,857
• Municipal unit density690/km2(1,800/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+2(EET)
• Summer (DST)UTC+3(EEST)
Postal code
136 xx
Area code(s)210
Vehicle registrationZ
Websiteacharnes.gr

Acharnes(Greek:Αχαρνές,pronounced[axarˈnes],before 1915: ΜενίδιMenidi,[3]pronounced[meˈniði]) is a suburb and a municipality inAthens,Greece,in theEast Atticaregional unit. With 108,169 inhabitants (2021 census), it is the ninth most populous municipality in Greece. It is part of theAthens urban area.

Geography

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The northern part of the municipality is covered by the forestedParnithamountain. The southern part is in the plain of Athens, and is densely populated. The built-up area of Acharnes, in this southern part of the municipality, is continuous with that of the adjacent suburbs to the west, east and south. The centre of Acharnes is 11 kilometres (7 miles) due north of Athens city centre. The two other settlements in the municipality,ThrakomakedonesandVarympompi,are situated further north, in the foothills of Parnitha. Acharnes is crossed by several important roads and railways, includingMotorway 6,thePiraeus–Platy railwayand theAthens Airport–Patras railway.TheAcharnes Railway Centeris the main railway junction of Attica; two other stations in the municipality areAcharnes railway stationandKato Acharnes railway station,both on the Piraeus–Platy railway. Acharnes is home to theFolk Art Museum of Acharnes.

History

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Acharnes has historically been anArvanitesettlement.[4]

Acharnes was named after thedemeAcharnae(Ancient Greek:Ἁχαρναί), a subdivision ofAthensinclassical antiquity.The Athenian playwrightAristophanescharacterised the inhabitants of Acharnae as peasants in his playThe Acharnians.Acharnes suffered significant damage from the1999 Athens earthquake,being very close to theepicenter.

Municipality

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The municipality Acharnes was formed at the 2011 local government reform by the merger of the following 2 former municipalities, that became municipal units:[5]

The municipality has an area of 149.956 km2,the municipal unit 146.406 km2.[6]

Historical population

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Year Municipal unit Municipality
1981 41,068 -
1991 61,352 -
2001 75,341 -
2011 100,743 106,943
2021 100,857 108,169

Crime

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Acharnes is considered by some to be an unsafe place to live since it has an alleged high crime rate, usually involving drugs, theft and gang activity.[7][8]There is also a small population of marginalized people such asRomaniliving in ghettos in Acharnes (approximately 4.800 people, about 4.5% of the population), that tend to be delinquents and offenders from an early age.[9][10][7][8][11]

Museums

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TheFolk Art Museum of Acharnesis amuseumin Acharnes, a northern suburb ofAthens,Greece.It was founded in 1977 by the local Greek Mountaineering Society, which also formed the Historical and Folklore Association in 1981, to which it bequeathed the museum in 1982. The archaeological part of the collection was then separated from the historical and folklore material and was given to the Hellenic Ministry of Culture. Former MinisterMelina Mercourifounded for it theArchaeological Museum of Acharnesin a neoclassical building in the central square of Acharnes, which had formerly housed the local Town Hall. The same building houses the Historical and Folklore Society and its Folk Art Museum to the present time.[12][13][14][15]

Sporting teams

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See also

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References

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  1. ^Municipality of Acharnes, Municipal elections – October 2023,Ministry of Interior
  2. ^"Αποτελέσματα Απογραφής Πληθυσμού - Κατοικιών 2021, Μόνιμος Πληθυσμός κατά οικισμό"[Results of the 2021 Population - Housing Census, Permanent population by settlement] (in Greek). Hellenic Statistical Authority. 29 March 2024.
  3. ^Name changes of settlements in Greece
  4. ^Hans-Jürgen Sasse (1991).Arvanitika: die albanischen Sprachreste in Griechenland.Vol. 1. p. 19.ISBN9783447027588.
  5. ^"ΦΕΚ A 87/2010, Kallikratis reform law text"(in Greek).Government Gazette.
  6. ^"Population & housing census 1991 (incl. area and average elevation)"(in Greek). National Statistical Service of Greece.
  7. ^abSkordas, Aggelos (5 February 2020)."Ζεφύρι - Μενίδι: Οδοιπορικό στα" ξεχασμένα "γκέτο της Δυτικής Αττικής".ΤΑ ΝΕΑ(in Greek).
  8. ^abSakellaridis, Miltos (5 September 2018)."Οι 7 περιοχές" γκέτο "της εγκληματικότητας στην Αττική".Ελεύθερος Τύπος(in Greek).
  9. ^Tsitounas, Kostas (18 December 2020)."Κορονοϊός - Τρόμος στην Δυτική Αττική: Υπάρχει κίνδυνος γενικευμένης σύρραξης; Τι φοβάται η ΕΛ.ΑΣ".newsbomb(in Greek).
  10. ^"Μενίδι: Τα γκέτο των ρομά γιγαντώθηκαν από τις τοπικές διοικήσεις και την ατιμωρισία".athensmagazine(in Greek). 10 June 2017.
  11. ^"Μενίδι: Νέα πορεία διαμαρτυρίας των κατοίκων".CNN Greece(in Greek). 11 June 2017.
  12. ^"Folk Art Museum of Acharnes, Acharnes".zoohara. Archived fromthe originalon 20 March 2014.Retrieved20 March2014.
  13. ^"Folk Art Museum of Acharnes".kitgan. Archived fromthe originalon 20 March 2014.Retrieved20 March2014.
  14. ^"info | Folk Art Museum of Acharnes".shelf3d.Retrieved20 March2014.