Kaisariani ( el, Καισαριανή) is a suburb and a municipality in the eastern 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 a ...

agglomeration in

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 wi ...

Geography

Kaisariani is located about southeast of

city centre, and of the Acropolis of Athens. The municipality has an area of 7.841 km². Towards the east the municipality extends to the forested Hymettus mountain, where the 11th century

Kaisariani Monastery The Kaisariani Monastery ( el, Μονή Καισαριανής) is an Eastern Orthodox monastery built on the north side of Mount Hymettus, near Athens, Greece. History The monastery was probably established in Byzantine times in ca. 1100, wh ...

is situated. The built-up area of Kaisariani is continuous with that of the center of Athens and the suburb Vyronas to the southwest. The main thoroughfare is Ethnikis Antistasis Avenue, which connects Kaisariani with the center of Athens and the eastern beltway Motorway 64.

History

The town was founded in 1922 as a refugee camp for

refugees A refugee, conventionally speaking, is a displaced person who has crossed national borders and who cannot or is unwilling to return home due to well-founded fear of persecution.

driven from Asia Minor, most of whom coming from

Smyrna Smyrna ( ; grc, Σμύρνη, Smýrnē, or , ) was a Greek city located at a strategic point on the Aegean coast of Anatolia. Due to its advantageous port conditions, its ease of defence, and its good inland connections, Smyrna rose to prom ...

. Formerly part of the municipality of

, Kaisariani was created as a municipality in 1933. The name was derived from Caesarea, the historical capital city of

Cappadocia Cappadocia or Capadocia (; tr, Kapadokya), is a historical region in Central Anatolia, Turkey. It largely is in the provinces Nevşehir, Kayseri, Aksaray, Kırşehir, Sivas and Niğde. According to Herodotus, in the time of the Ionian Revo ...

, Asia Minor (now

Kayseri Kayseri (; el, Καισάρεια) is a large industrialised city in Central Anatolia, Turkey, and the capital of Kayseri province. The Kayseri Metropolitan Municipality area is composed of five districts: the two central districts of Kocasina ...

, Turkey). The Kaisariani rifle range is notable as the site of the execution of 200 communists on 1 May 1944 by the Nazi occupiers as a revenge for the death of German general

Franz Krech Major General (''Generalmajor'') Franz Krech (died 27 April 1944) was the German commander of the 41st Fortress Division of the Wehrmacht during the World War II Axis occupation of Greece. He was ambushed and killed by a platoon of the Greek Peo ...

, who had been killed in a guerrilla ambush near Molaoi a few days before. In the early hours of June 17, 1944, 10 men of the United Panhellenic Organization of Youth and guerillas of the National Liberation Front were killed, when trapped by the Nazi forces at the Monastery of Kaisariani, where they had been hiding. Attica 06-13 Hills of Hymettus 06 church ruins

Attica 06-13 Hills of Hymettus 06 church ruins

Historical population

Sports

Kaisariani has its own Greek A2 League basketball team, named Near East Kaisariani, which was founded in 1927. The team plays in the Near East Indoor Arena.

Notable people

Themis Adamantidis Themis Adamantidis ( gr, Θέμης Αδαμαντίδης), born 28 September 1957) is a Greek singer and songwriter. He released around two dozen full-length studio albums, on Columbia Records, Minos Records/EMI and WEA The Wea were a M ...

, singer *

Christos Dantis Christos Dantis ( el, Χρήστος Δάντης; born Christos Vlahakis, 26 September 1966), is a Greek multi-instrumentalist, singer, songwriter, lyricist, and record producer best known for his hits such as "To Palio Mou Palto" and "Ena Tra ...

, singer and songwriter *

Anna Fonsou Anna may refer to: People Surname and given name * Anna (name) Mononym * Anna the Prophetess, in the Gospel of Luke * Anna (wife of Artabasdos) (fl. 715–773) * Anna (daughter of Boris I) (9th–10th century) * Anna (Anisia) (fl. 1218 to 1221) ...

, actress * Stelios Giannakopoulos, footballer *

Antonis Kalogiannis Antonis Kalogiannis ( el, Αντώνης Καλογιάννης; 3 August 1933 – 11 February 2021) was a Greek singer. Biography In 1966, Kalogiannis met with composer Mikis Theodorakis, who helped launch his career. During the Greek junta, he ...

, singer * Evangelos Kouloumbis, politician *

Domna Samiou Domna Samiou ( el, Δόμνα Σαμίου; 12 October 1928 – 10 March 2012List of municipalities of Attica

References

External links

Photos of KaisarianiCity of Kaisariani official websiteKesariani Online
{{Authority control 1922 establishments in Greece Populated places established in 1922 Municipalities of Attica Populated places in Central Athens (regional unit)