West Attica

West Attica Regional Unit Περιφερειακή Ενότητα Δυτικής Αττικής (Δυτική Αττική)
Basic data
State :	Greece
Region :	Attica
Area :	1,059.824 km²
Residents :	160,927 (2011)
Population density :	151.8 inhabitants / km²
NUTS 3 code no. :	EL306
Structure:	5 municipalities

The regional district of West Attica ( Greek Periferiaki Enotita Dytikis Attikis ) is one of the eight regional districts of the Greek region of Attica . From 1972 to 2010 the area formed as the prefectural district of West Attica one of the four prefecture districts (nomarchíes) of the prefecture and later region of Attica, which de facto resembled the other self-governing prefectures (nomí) . It was created by dividing the prefecture of Attica into four districts in 1972, replaced the congruent province of Megarida and was abolished with the administrative reform in 2010 . The regional district of West Attica sends four members to the Attic regional council, but has no further political significance.

geography

West Attica extends between the Isthmus of Corinth and the greater Athens-Piraeus area on the north coast of the Saronic Gulf and the east coast of the Gulf of the Alkyonids , the eastern branch of the Gulf of Corinth. The largest part corresponds to the ancient landscape and the former modern province of Megaris , the three eastern municipalities were formerly part of the province of Attica. In the west, West Attica borders on the regional district of Korinthia , in the north on Boeotia and in the east on the regional districts of Eastern and Athens-West of the Attica region. The island of Salamis , located close to the coast, belongs to the Islands regional district .

The east around the capital Elefsina forms the now industrial Thrias Plain (Θριάσιο Πεδίο), the rest of the terrain is mountainous and forms a natural border to the west ( Gerania , 1351 m) and north ( Kitheronas , 1410 m and Parnitha , 1413 m) the neighboring regions. Around 40 percent of the area is forested and around 20 percent is arable land.

West Attica is divided into the communities Aspropyrgos , Elefsina , Fyli , Mandra-Idyllia and Megara .

Population and history

West Attica already occupied an important strategic position as a connection between Athens and the cities of the Peloponnese in ancient times . Important settlement centers were the ancient Megara and Eleusis, famous for the mysteries of all Greek importance .

Since the 14th century the area was characterized by the immigration of Arvanites , in the 20th century it was mainly Greeks who migrated from the Peloponnese, Crete, Epirus, Asia Minor and from the Russian Black Sea coast, and the population grew by leaps and bounds. At the turn of the 20th century, industrialization began around Elefsina, mainly with cement and steel production, oil refineries, shipyards and ammunition factories.

politics

The prefectural district was represented by a 31-member prefectural council. In the 2006 elections, the socialist PASOK achieved an absolute majority with 19 seats, and nine seats went to the conservative Nea Dimokratia , two to representatives of the communist KKE and one to the left-wing ecological movement Synaspismos . Prefect is Aristidis Arkoudaris (Αριστείδης Αρκουδάρης), PASOK.

Economy and Infrastructure

Of the approximately 150,000 inhabitants, around 37% work in the industrial sector, 18% in the construction industry and 9.5% each in agriculture and trade. The four parishes in the Thrias Plain house around 46.1% of the prefecture's inhabitants.

Since 2004, the prefecture administration has been striving to promote tourism - especially within Greece - as an economic factor and advertise the natural beauties of the mountain regions and the beaches on the Saronic and Corinthian Gulf.

The prefecture is connected to the air and sea traffic by the Athens airport and the port of Piraeus . The Greek motorway 8 , which connects Athens with Patras , also runs along the coast . A regular-gauge railway line through West Attica on the PATHE axis (Patras – Athens – Thessaloniki – Idomeni) of the Greek Railway Company , which was planned for high-speed traffic, was completed at the beginning of the 21st century.

Web links

• Tourism website of the prefecture administration (English, Greek)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Results of the 2011 census at the National Statistical Service of Greece (ΕΛ.ΣΤΑΤ) ( Memento from June 27, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) (Excel document, 2.6 MB)
2. ↑ Law of May 8, 1972 on the structure of the Attica prefecture. (PDF; 402 kB; Greek)
3. ^ Election results ( Memento from May 31, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) on the website of the Greek Ministry of the Interior