Rafina
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Rafina municipality Δημοτική Ενότητα Ραφήνας (Ραφήνα) |
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| Basic data | |||
| State : |
 Greece
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| Region : |
Attica
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| Regional District : | Eaststatica | ||
| Municipality : | Rafina-Pikermi | ||
| Geographic coordinates : | 38 ° 1 ′ N , 24 ° 0 ′ E | ||
| Height above d. M .: | 0-10 m coast-center |
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| Area : | 18.979 km² | ||
| Residents : | 13.091 (2011) | ||
| Population density : | 689.8 inhabitants / km² | ||
| Code No .: | 491001 | ||
| Structure: |
1 municipality |
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| Website: | www.rafina.gr | ||
| Located in the municipality of Rafina-Pikermi and in the Ostattika regional district | |||
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Rafina ( Greek Ραφήνα ) is a small town in the Greek region of Attica . Until 2010 it formed an independent municipality, from 1994 as a municipality (dimos), which was merged with the neighboring Pikermi to the west on January 1, 2011 to form the municipality of Rafina-Pikermi , where it has since formed a municipality and houses the municipal administration.
geography
Rafina is on the east coast of the Attica peninsula ; the city of Rafina itself lies directly on the Aegean Sea. The Pendeli mountain range rises to the west of Rafina and the Mesogea Attikis plain extends to the southwest . The Attic Kifissos River also flows to the west. The city center of Athens is 30 km west of Rafina, the southern neighboring municipality is Artemida (Loutsa) and the northern Nea Makri . Athens International Airport is located south-southwest of Rafina.
In addition to the small coastal town of the same name, Rafina includes the surrounding area, which mainly consists of forest and agricultural land. The small settlement of Kallitechnoupolis (928 inhabitants) is also part of the Rafina municipality. The three settlements that belong to Rafina are, in addition to the small town of Rafina itself, Agia Kyriaki, Agia Triada and Agios Georgios.
history
The oldest finds in Rafina are one and a half kilometers south of the port on the Askitario peninsula , south of the beach of Marikes. The archaeologist Demetrios Theocharis carried out excavations here from 1954 to 1955. He discovered buildings from the 3rd century BC. BC and established 3 construction phases, which are referred to as Askitario I, II and III. From Askitario I, which dates to the Early Helladic (FH) I, and Askitario II, which falls into the early FH II, only remains of buildings have survived. During Askitario III (middle FH II) the peninsula was protected from the mainland by a wall about 100 meters long. Theocharis found eight connected and one single building from this period. The settlement was probably left before the end of FH II. Shortly afterwards, a new settlement was built on the hill above the port of Rafina, which is divided into two phases, Raphina I and II. Raphina I dates to the late FH II and Raphina II to FH III. A metalworking workshop was found on the beach that is older than Raphina I. Raphina I was secured by a wall. In Raphina II, sacrificial holes, so-called Bothroi , could be detected.
At the time of the Mycenaean culture until about 1200 BC. A Mycenaean settlement is said to have been located in the area of today's municipality of Rafina. In antiquity, the Attic Demos Araphen , who belonged to the coastal Trittye of the Phyle Aigeis , was located here . The current name Rafina was formed from Araphen. On the road to Pikermi , about a kilometer from the port, one found late Roman buildings and a bath.
The British traveler to Greece William Martin Leake reported at the beginning of the 19th century that there was a small hamlet of the same name in the area of today's municipality of Rafina . This belonged to the monastery Petraki or Asomato.
The small town of Rafina was founded in the 1920s by Greek refugees from Anatolia after the end of the Greco-Turkish War from 1919 to 1922 with the Greek defeat that ended it. The refugees had to leave their ancestral homeland as part of a so-called population exchange as a result of the Peace Treaty of Lausanne of 1923 and settled in the area of today's municipality of Rafina. Most of the refugees came from today's Turkish city of Tirilye (Greek name: Triglia). Before the settlement of the refugees from Asia Minor there was an Arvanite village in the area of Rafina .
At the end of April 1941, Rafina, like the rest of the Attica region including Athens, was captured by German troops as part of the Marita company during World War II . Previously (April 25 and 26, 1941) the British-Australian-New Zealand expeditionary force left the Greek mainland via the port of Rafina before the advancing German troops and was evacuated to Crete and Egypt. In the subsequent occupation until October 1944, German troops kept Rafina and the rest of Attica occupied. In the area of Rafina north of today's small town, an execution was supposed to take place during the German occupation in retaliation for the murder of the city commandant. However, the execution was prevented. After the end of the Second World War, the chapel of St. Nicholas (Agios Nikolaos) was built on the site of the planned execution in memory of this event.
Until the 1970s, the area of the municipality of Rafina was dominated by rural areas; Due to extensive construction activity, the population grew rapidly and the small town that exists today was created.
On July 28, 2005, a morning fire in the hills southwest of Rafina threatened the small town during the morning. The Kallitechnoupoli settlement of Rafina municipality was affected by the fire - several houses were destroyed in the flames. With massive efforts by the fire brigades from the administrative region of Attica, it was possible to prevent the fire from spreading to the small town and to extinguish the fire. During the fire fighting, the evacuation of Rafina residents was necessary; the main road to Athens, Leoforos Marathon, was also closed.
population
At the time of the 2011 census, the majority of the population of the municipality of Rafina lived in the small town of the same name. Only a few hundred inhabitants were distributed among the other villages belonging to the municipality of Rafina.
| year | Inhabitants small town | Change absolutely | Change relative | Residents municipality | Population density | Change absolutely | Change relative |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1981 | 4994 | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 1991 | 8282 | +3288 | + 65.84% | 8611 | 453.7 / km² | - | - |
| 2001 | 11,352 | +3070 | + 37.07% | 11,909 | 627.5 / km² | +3298 | + 38.30% |
Former Greek Prime Minister Kostas Karamanlis is based in Rafina.
Transport and infrastructure
Due to its coastal location, Rafina has a port. After the port of Piraeus, this is the second most important ferry port in Attica with many ferry connections to the Cyclades islands and the island of Evia . Rafina has a connection to the Greek national road network through national road 54, which leads from Rafina westwards towards Athens. Other well-developed road connections lead to Artemida (Loutsa) and Nea Makri. In the future expansion plans for the Attiki Odos motorway , a connection from Rafina to the Attiki Odos via the 64 motorway is planned, which is to be extended from the west as Imittos ring to the east towards Rafina.
The municipality of Rafina has primary and secondary schools, banks, churches and a post office. Within the town there are several public places, so-called Platies (singular: Platia ).
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Results of the 2011 census, Greek Statistical Office (ΕΛ.ΣΤΑΤ) ( Memento from June 27, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) (Excel document, 2.6 MB)
- ↑ Mariya Ivanova: Fortified settlements in the Balkans, in the Aegean Sea and in Western Anatolia, approx. 5000 - 2000 BC Chr. Waxmann Verlag, Münster 2008, ISBN 978-3-8309-1937-7 , pp. 273-274 ( online ).
- ↑ Mariya Ivanova: Fortified settlements in the Balkans, in the Aegean Sea and in Western Anatolia, approx. 5000 - 2000 BC Chr. Waxmann Verlag, Münster 2008, ISBN 978-3-8309-1937-7 , p. 312 ( online ).
- ↑ Georgios Themistoklis Maltezos: Mycenae . E. Lincks-Crusius Verlag, 1960, p. 32 .
- ↑ To this Arthur Milchhöfer : Araphen . In: Paulys Realencyclopadie der classischen Antiquity Science (RE). Volume II, 1, Stuttgart 1895, Col. 379.
- ↑ William Martin Leake: The demes of Attica . Verlag von Georg von Westermann, Braunschweig 1840, ISBN 1-4212-2639-1 , p. 64 (reprinted Adamant Media Corporation).
- ^ Volkmar Kühn: Torpedo boats and destroyers in action: 1939–1945 . Motorbuch-Verlag, 1974, ISBN 3-87943-344-5 , p. 148-149 .
- ↑ Bruce T. Swain: A Chronology of Australian Armed Forces at War 1939-45 . Allen & Unwin, 2001, ISBN 1-86508-352-6 , pp. 42 .