Irakleio ( el, Ηράκλειο) is a suburb in the northeastern part of the

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

agglomeration,

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders ...

, and a municipality of the

Attica Attica ( el, Αττική, Ancient Greek ''Attikḗ'' or , or ), or the Attic Peninsula, is a historical region that encompasses the city of Athens, the capital of Greece and its countryside. It is a peninsula projecting into the Aegean S ...

region.

Geography

Irakleio is located about 8 km northeast of Athens city centre. The municipality has an area of 4.638 km². Its built-up area is continuous with those of the neighbouring suburbs Kalogreza,

Nea Ionia Nea Ionia ( el, Νέα Ιωνία, meaning New Ionia) is a northern suburb of Athens, Greece, and a municipality of the Attica region. It was named after Ionia, the region in Anatolia from which many Greeks migrated in the 1920s as a part of the ...

Metamorfosi Metamorfosi ( el, Μεταμόρφωση, Metamórfosi, transfiguration; before 1957: Koukouvaounes ( el, link=no, Κουκουβάουνες, Koukouváounes) is a suburb in the northern part of the Athens agglomeration, Greece, and a municipalit ...

Lykovrysi Lykovrysi ( el, Λυκόβρυση; formerly Γλυκόβρυση ''Glykovrysi'') is in North Athens, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Lykovrysi-Pefki, of which it is a municipal unit/community. Geogr ...

Pefki Pefki ( el, Πεύκη, , meaning "pine", before 1959: Μαγκουφάνα - ''Magkoufana'', ) is a suburb in the northeastern part of the Athens agglomeration, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Lykovr ...

and Marousi. Irakleio is subdivided into several quarters, including Palaio Irakleio, Neo Irakleio, Ano Irakleio and Prasinos Lofos. The main thoroughfare is Irakleiou Avenue, which connects it with central Athens. The northern beltway of Athens, Motorway 6, passes through Irakleio. Irakleio is served by a metro station (

Irakleio metro station Irakleio ( el, Ηράκλειο, ), also known as Iraklio on signage, is an Athens metro station in the municipality of Irakleio in the regional unit of North Athens, Attica, Greece. It is marked at the 19.246 km from the starting point in ...

) and by a commuter railway station ( Irakleio railway station).

History

Irakleio was named after a sanctuary of

Heracles Heracles ( ; grc-gre, Ἡρακλῆς, , glory/fame of Hera), born Alcaeus (, ''Alkaios'') or Alcides (, ''Alkeidēs''), was a divine hero in Greek mythology, the son of Zeus and Alcmene, and the foster son of Amphitryon.By his adoptiv ...

that was located in the area in classical antiquity. Before the Greek War of Independence the village was known as Arakli. Irakleio was refounded as a military colony for the

Bavarian Auxiliary Corps The Royal Bavarian Auxiliary Corps ( el, Βασιλικὸν Βαυαρικὸν Ἐπικουρικὸν Σῶμα, german: Königlich Bayerisches Hilfskorps) was a military force formed in 1832 to accompany the Bavarian prince Otto to the newly ...

by King

Otto Otto is a masculine German given name and a surname. It originates as an Old High German short form (variants ''Audo'', '' Odo'', ''Udo'') of Germanic names beginning in ''aud-'', an element meaning "wealth, prosperity". The name is recorded f ...

. Due to the divide between the Catholic Bavarians and the Orthodox Greeks, the local Catholic pastor had to function as match-maker, bringing in a boatload of Catholic girls from

Syros Syros ( el, Σύρος ), also known as Siros or Syra, is a Greek island in the Cyclades, in the Aegean Sea. It is south-east of Athens. The area of the island is and it has 21,507 inhabitants (2011 census). The largest towns are Ermoupoli, An ...

to secure the colony's continued existence. The colony nevertheless quickly assimilated into Greek society, so that by the 1860s, German was almost no longer known. During World War II,

Heinrich Himmler Heinrich Luitpold Himmler (; 7 October 1900 – 23 May 1945) was of the (Protection Squadron; SS), and a leading member of the Nazi Party of Germany. Himmler was one of the most powerful men in Nazi Germany and a main architect of th ...

, who learned of the German origin of many Irakleiotes, came in person to the area and took measures to ensure their comfort amidst the Great Famine. About a hundred Irakleiotes were even persuaded to move to Germany as ''

Volksdeutsche In Nazi German terminology, ''Volksdeutsche'' () were "people whose language and culture had German origins but who did not hold German citizenship". The term is the nominalised plural of '' volksdeutsch'', with ''Volksdeutsche'' denoting a sin ...

'' and join the German war effort, but once in Bavaria they found a hostile welcome; and when they returned home in 1945, they found their properties confiscated by the Greek government. Irakleio was part of the municipality of

until 1925, when it became a separate community, elevated to municipality in 1948. The earthquake of September 7, 1999, affected the area but caused minor damages.

Princess Alice of Battenberg Princess Alice of Battenberg (Victoria Alice Elizabeth Julia Marie; 25 February 1885 – 5 December 1969) was the mother of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, mother-in-law of Queen Elizabeth II, and the paternal grandmother of King Charles III ...

(1885-1969), founded the Orthodox religious order of Martha and Mary here after World War II.

Historical population

References

External links

* {{Kallikratis-Attica Municipalities of Attica Populated places in North Athens (regional unit)

Geography

History

Historical population

See also

References

External links