Nea Smyrni

THE HISTORY OF NEA SMYRNI

5PRIMARY SCHOOL NEAS SMYRNISATHENS, GREECE

GRADE 6A

Nea Smyrni ( "New Smyrna") is a historical and very nice suburb of Athens, between the noisy center and the sandy coastline of the capital of Greece.

The first inhabitants of our town were Greek refugees who used to live in Smyrna, Minor Asia, today’s Izmir in Turkey. The city of Smyrna was inhabited by the Greeks centuries B.C.

Smyrna

In 1922 following the Population exchange between Greece and Turkey, and after the town of Smyrna was burnt down by the Turkish army, a lot of its Greek inhabitants had to leave their houses, land and property and move to Greece. Some of them moved here , to Nea Smyrni, transforming the place into an urban area. So, the new suburb of Athens was called Nea Smyrni (= New Smyrna) after Smyrna.

Smyrna on fire

The area was once partly made up of farmlands, with woods dominating the landscape, and its mixed farming included pastures, vegetable gardens and forests to the east.

Building houses in Nea Smyrni

One of the most important Christian Orthodox churches in Smyrna was the Church of Agia Fotini that was built in the 17th century AD. The bell tower of the church was destroyed twice. The first inhabitants of Nea Smyrni built the Cathedral of Agia Fotini and today a replica of the bell tower stands in the yard of the church.

In Smyrna In Nea Smyrni

The bell tower of Agia Fotini

Agia Fotini Cathedral and the temple

The temple of the church was brought by the refugees from another church in Smyrna.

A lot of our schools have taken their names after the names of the schools where young Greeks studied in Smyrna. The most important ones are Evangeliki Scholi and Kentriko High School called ( =Central).

Evangeliki Scholi in Smyrna

Kenrtiko High School in Smyrna

Evangeliki Scholi in Nea Smyrni

Kentriko High School in Nea Smyrni

The athletic association of Panionios was founded in Smyrna in 1890 and it also moved to Nea Smyrni in 1922. Today it is the most important athletic association in our town.

Today Nea Smyrni is mainly made up of residential areas with a few business areas. It is connected with the centre of Athens by tram.

Its population is around 100.000 and our town has parks, schools, banks, post offices, cinemas and squares with a good number of bars, cafes, restaurants and shops.

The heart of the town is the Plateia (the main square) and Alsos (the central park).

Plateia

In the huge park of Nea Smyrni, Alsos, people do sports or watch an event in the open air theatre during the summer and autumn months.

Alsos

Visit

www.youtube.com/watch?v=oBstBrW_Kaw

to watch a video about our town.