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Agia Paraskevi (Greek: Αγία Παρασκευή ) is a suburb in Athens, Greece. It is bounded northeast by Athens, where ERT studios are located. Its distance from Athens is about 5 to 6 km. Its total size is about 600 m by 600 m. Its location is in the southeast. It includes some satellites. Its rest are residential. Its main street is Mesogeion. Agriculture used to dominate before the 1930s or 1940s by the booming of Athens. The highest elevation is around 800 m in the northern slopes of the Hymettus. Agia Paraskevi consists of 5 districts which are: Kontopefko (Greek Κοντοπεύκο for short pine tree, Ancient/Katharevousa Kontopefkon), Nea Zoi (Νέα Ζωη Greek for new life), Tsakos (Τσάκος), Agios Ioannis (Greek: Άγιος Ιωάννης mean. Saint John) and Stavros (Σταυρός mean. cross). In the town center is the central Agia Paraskevi Square with the beautiful church dedicated to the Orthodox Santa Agia Paraskevi, after whom the suburb is named. Since 2004, it is bypassed along with Mesogeion Avenue and the historic Marathonos Avenue the Hymettus Ring (route 65) in the southeast which is part of the Attiki Odos privately-owned superhighway network. It has an interchange in the southeast which is the last interchange before Katechaki Avenue. The junction for the westbound lanes of Attiki Odos (route 6) is east of the boundary. It has to be remarked that in Agia Paraskevi operates the Nuclear Research Center Demokritos which hosts the sole nuclear reactor in Greece. In the suberb is also situated the headquarters of the Greek Ministry of Agriculture.
The climate conditions in the area around Agia Paraskevi are very nice: not too cold in winter, not too hot in summer, with a medium level of humidity, and all this combined with the world-known greek sun. Due to this fact, people suffering from serious illnesses used to be brought here, as part of their treatment or in order to recover, in the years before the great urban development. In this time Agia Paraskevi was only fields and forests. Built at the foot of Hymettus mountain, Agia Paraskevi offers a great opportunity for leisure activities such as trekking, jogging and cycling. The town is constantly developing and every evening it attracts people from all over Attica as it is full of cafes, bars, small clubs and restaurants. There are also cinemas and shopping centers.
The football team of the suberb is called Santa football team and it has many devoted funs. During the Olympic Games in 2004, a part of the historical Marathon passed through Agia Paraskevi, in Mesogeion avenue. Agia Paraskevi has schools, lyceums, gymnasia, churches, a post office, a municipal library and squares including Agia Paraskevi Square. The riot of 1993 In 1993, there was a opposition from the inhabitants of the suburb against the construction of the Hymettus ring road. The Hymettus ring road would be a big highway on the mountain linked directly to Attiki Odos. The construction of both the ring and Attiki Odos was due to commence immediately. The realization of this plan would demand lots of trees to be cut down as well as an increase in noise pollution and predictably caused the opposition of the local population who asked for a different solution: a covered road. However, the government would not turn back and in fact, it sent bulldozers to the mountain. This led to a riot in April, 1993. Thousands of people went up the mountain and faced the bulldozers, forcing the drivers to leave. Finally, police forces 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 the small part over the Deree College. Historical population
Links GR Mapquest - Agia Paraskevi, street map not available Coordinates: 38° 0′ 9″ N 23° 49′ 15″ E
See also: National Research Center for Physical Sciences Demokritos
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