Zografou ( el, Ζωγράφου) is a suburb of approximately 71,000 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 ...

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 with ...

. It was named after the Greek politician Ioannis Zografos. To the east of Zografou lies mount

Hymettus Hymettus (), also Hymettos (; el, Υμηττός, translit=Ymittós, pronounced ), is a mountain range in the Athens area of Attica, East Central Greece. It is also colloquially known as ''Trellós'' (crazy) or ''Trellóvouno'' (crazy mountain) ...

. The area, being close to the centre of Athens, developed similar

urban sprawl Urban sprawl (also known as suburban sprawl or urban encroachment) is defined as "the spreading of urban developments (such as houses and shopping centers) on undeveloped land near a city." Urban sprawl has been described as the unrestricted growt ...

characteristics, with high-rise buildings of even 10 stories tall being the norm. The municipality is also home to the

National and Kapodistrian university of Athens The National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (NKUA; el, Εθνικό και Καποδιστριακό Πανεπιστήμιο Αθηνών, ''Ethnikó ke Kapodistriakó Panepistímio Athinón''), usually referred to simply as the Univers ...

and

National Technical university of Athens The National (Metsovian) Technical University of Athens (NTUA; el, Εθνικό Μετσόβιο Πολυτεχνείο, ''National Metsovian Polytechnic''), sometimes known as Athens Polytechnic, is among the oldest higher education institution ...

campuses and therefore, a great part of its population is university students. Zografou includes the smaller areas of Ilissia and

Goudi Goudi (, since 2006; formerly Γουδί ) is a residential neighbourhood of Athens, Greece, on the eastern part of town and on the foothills of Mount Hymettus. History The name of the area derives from the 19th century Goudi (Γουδή) famil ...

Geography

Zografou is an inner suburb of Athens, located about 4 km east of

city centre. The municipality has an area of 8.517 km². Towards the east the municipality extends to the forested

mountain. The built-up area of Zografou is continuous with that of mucipality of Athens. A large campus of the

National and Kapodistrian University of Athens The National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (NKUA; el, Εθνικό και Καποδιστριακό Πανεπιστήμιο Αθηνών, ''Ethnikó ke Kapodistriakó Panepistímio Athinón''), usually referred to simply as the Univers ...

is situated in

Ano Ilisia Ilisia ( el, Ιλίσια ) is a neighborhood of Athens, Greece, named after the river Ilisos. A portion of the neighborhood, Ano Ilisia (Upper Ilisia), is in Zografou and is near the Theology, Philosophy and Scientific faculties of the Universit ...

, the easternmost quarter of Zografou. Ano Ilisia derived its name from the river

Ilisos The Ilisos or Ilisus ( el, Ιλισός, ) is a river in Athens, Greece. Originally a tributary of the Kifisos, it has been rechanneled to the sea. It is now largely channeled underground, though as of June 2019 there are plans to unearth the ...

, which starts at St Eleousa, now in the University campus. Another quarter of Zografou is

, in the northwestern part of the municipality. The main church of Zografou is consecrated to Agios Therapontas (Greek: Άγιος Θεράποντας). With Zografou having been built on the hills of Hymettus, a common sight around the suburb are some very steep uphill streets.

Transport

Zografou is served by bus lines 140 (Polygono - Glyfada), 220 (Ano Ilisia - Akadimia), 221 (Panepistimioupoli - Akadimia), 230 (Akropoli - Zografou), 235 (Zografou - Akadimia), 250 (Panepistimioupoli - Evangelismos station), 608 (Galatsi - Akadimia - Nekr. Zografou), 622 (Goudi - Ano Galatsi) and 815 (Goudi - Tavros). The eastern beltway Motorway 64 passes through the municipality. At summer of 2029, Zografou will have 3

metro stations A metro station or subway station is a station for a rapid transit system, which as a whole is usually called a "metro" or "subway". A station provides a means for passengers to purchase tickets, board trains, and evacuate the system in the ...

at Ilissia, Zografou (Gardenia Place) and Goudi.

History

After the departure of the Ottomans from the area in the 1830s, the area came into the ownership of Ioannis Koniaris, mayor of Athens from 1851 to 1854, and Leonidas Vournazos. In 1902, Eleni Vournazos, widow of Leonidas, sells 1,250 stremma of the Kouponia/

area to Ioannis Zografos (died 1927), a Member of Parliament for the Nationalist Party and university professor. Dividing it into plots, he sold them for installments of 112 drachma per month. The first houses were erected in 1919. Within ten years, 100 had been built. At this time, the foundations of the Church of St. Theraponta were erected. In 1929, the area, now known as Zografou, was split from the municipality of Athens and became an independent community. It was elevated to a municipality in 1947, its first president being Sotirios Zografos, the son of Ioannis. In 1935, the area of Kouponia (now Ano Ilisia) was incorporated into the community.

Scientific Centers, Museums and others

Dimitri Kitsikis Public Foundation"
*

Gounaropoulos Museum Gounaropoulos Museum is located in Athens, 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 Eu ...

, dedicated to the works of painter Giorgios Gounaropoulos. It was founded in 1979. *

Marika Kotopouli Museum The Marika Kotopouli Museum is a modern art museum in Zografou, Athens, Greece. The building housing the museum was built by the famous Greek theater actress Marika Kotopouli Marika Kotopouli ( el, Μαρίκα Κοτοπούλη; 3 May 1887 ...

, a museum of modern art, founded in 1990 and housed in the 1926 villa of actress

Marika Kotopouli Marika Kotopouli ( el, Μαρίκα Κοτοπούλη; 3 May 1887 – 11 September 1954) was a Greek stage actress during the first half of the 20th century. Biography Kotopouli was born on 3 May 1887 in Athens to actor parents, Dimitrios Kot ...

Sports

Zografou hosts the local sport teams Asteras Zografou, football club founded in 1965 and Filathlitikos B.C., basketball club founded in 1986. In addition, the sport club

Ilisiakos Ilisiakos Football Club ( el, Ηλυσιακός A.O.) is an Athens-based Association football, football club that was founded in 1927 by Michalis Xydis, Lambropoulos, Evgenopoulos, Nikolaos Plessas, ''et al.''. They played in Delta Ethiniki until ...

, founded in 1927, is based in

Ilisia ''Ilisia'' is a genus of crane fly in the family Limoniidae. Distribution Palaearctic, North America & Oriental. Species *'' I. armillaris'' ( Osten Sacken, 1869) *'' I. asymmetrica'' (Alexander, 1913) *'' I. graphica'' ( Osten Sacken, 186 ...

a district that is shared between Municipalities of

and Zografou.

Historical population

Notable people

Giannis Antetokounmpo Giannis Sina Ugo Antetokounmpo (born Adetokunbo; December 6, 1994) is a Greek-Nigerian professional basketball player for the Milwaukee Bucks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Antetokounmpo's country of origin, in addition to his s ...

(1994–) professional basketball player *

Kostas Antetokounmpo Konstantinos Ndubuisi "Kostas" Antetokounmpo ( ; el, Κωνσταντίνος Εντουμπουίσι "Κώστας" Αντετοκούνμπο, ; born Adetokunbo November 20, 1997) is a Greek professional basketball player who plays for the F ...

(1997–) professional basketball player *

Thanasis Antetokounmpo Athanasios Rotimi "Thanasis" Antetokounmpo, (born Adetokunbo; July 18, 1992) is a Greek-Nigerian professional basketball player for the Milwaukee Bucks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Listed at 6 feet and 7 inches, he plays the ...

(1992–) professional basketball player *Kostas Eftaxias (1986–present) exceptional Civil Engineer *

Dimitri Kitsikis Dimitri Kitsikis ( el, Δημήτρης Κιτσίκης; 2 June 1935 – 28 August 2021) was a Greek Turkologist, Sinologist and Professor of International Relations and Geopolitics. He also published poetry in French and Greek. Life Dimitri K ...

(1935–2021)

Royal Society of Canada The Royal Society of Canada (RSC; french: Société royale du Canada, SRC), also known as the Academies of Arts, Humanities and Sciences of Canada (French: ''Académies des arts, des lettres et des sciences du Canada''), is the senior national, bil ...

(1887–1954) actress *

Nikos Kourkoulos Nikos Kourkoulos ( el, Νίκος Κούρκουλος; December 5, 1934 in Athens, Greece – January 30, 2007) was a highly respected Greek theatrical and film performer, one of the most talented and recognizable actors in Greece of modern tim ...

(1934–2007) actor

Gallery

File:Attica 06-13 Zografou 01 Papagou.jpg, Papagou Avenue in Zografou File:Attica 06-13 Zografou 04 StThomas Church.jpg, Church of St. Thomas File:Attica 06-13 Zografou 05 StTherapont Church.jpg, Church of St. Therapont File:Attica 06-13 Zografou 02 Mansion.jpg, Villa Zografou

References

External links

City of Zografou official website

News site for City of Zografou
{{Authority control Municipalities of Attica Populated places in Central Athens (regional unit)