Exarchia

Exarchia ( Greek Εξάρχεια ) is a district north of the center of the Greek capital Athens , which is considered a student district and a hotspot for the scene.

Platia Exarchion (πλατεία Εξαρχείων).

The blue apartment house was the residence of numerous celebrities and a prime example of the old Athens apartment house of the 1920-1930s

location

The district, which was built between 1880 and 1890, is said to have been named after a grocer called Exarchos. The center of the district is the Platia Exarchion.

It extends between the Panepistimiou , the National Archaeological Museum , the Leoforos Alexandras and the Strefi Hill ( Greek Λόφος Στρέφη ) around the Odos Emanouil Benaki and Odos Themistikleous. The transition to the trendy Kolonaki district , to which it has an administrative border to the south, is seamless .

character

The quarter is inhabited by numerous students and is considered the center of the alternative scene . In addition to university institutes, book and stationery stores and copy shops, numerous cafés, taverns, pubs and snack stands, but also house walls painted with graffiti , characterize the street scene. The area has a lively nightlife with a number of Rembetiko bars. However, drug trafficking always creates problems.

Protests and demonstrations have traditionally started here. In November 1973 the uprising at the Polytechnic against the rule of the military junta began , which was bloodily suppressed after a few days. For years, Exarchia has been a center of anarchist autonomists who regularly take part in political rallies and demonstrations. The district is therefore often referred to as anarchia .

In March 2009, residents of the district tore up the pavement and asphalt of a parking lot and planted bushes and flowers to create a park. Except for the little Strefi hill, there was no green space in Exarchia until then. Since then, this self-managed “urban space for everyone” has not only offered a playground, but also a stage for theater and film performances and discussions, as the documentary 'Parko' (director: Clara Stella Hüneke) released in 2017 shows.

Memorial to Alexandros Grigoropoulos, 2008

Map of Exarchia - Riots 2008

Center of unrest

On December 6, 2008, 15-year-old Alexandros-Andreas Grigoropoulos was shot dead by police officers in Exarchia. As a result, serious unrest broke out in Athens and other Greek cities , in which numerous shops, banks and cars were set on fire. Nationwide riots broke out in 1985 after 15-year-old Michalis Kaltezas was shot in the head by security forces.

Web links

Commons : Exarcheia  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Single receipts

1. ↑ Kathimerini of March 16, 2009 (English)
2. ↑ Internet site for the film 'Parko', accessed on June 15, 2017
3. ↑ FAZ of December 8, 2008: Greek revolt

Coordinates: 37 ° 59 ′ 10 ″  N , 23 ° 44 ′ 5 ″  E