Aigaleo
Aigaleo or Egaleo (Greek: Αιγάλεω pronounced [eˈɣaleo]) is a town and a suburban municipality in the western part of the Athens urban area, belonging to the West Athens regional administrative unit. It takes its name from Mount Aigaleo. Its population was 69,946 at the 2011 census.
Aigaleo
Αιγάλεω | |
---|---|
![]() Estavromenou (Christ on the Cross) Square | |
![]() ![]() Aigaleo Location within the region ![]() | |
Coordinates: 37°59′31″N 23°40′41″E | |
Country | Greece |
Administrative region | Attica |
Regional unit | West Athens |
Area | |
• Municipality | 6.450 km2 (2.490 sq mi) |
Elevation | 50 m (160 ft) |
Population (2011)[1] | |
• Municipality | 69,946 |
• Municipality density | 11,000/km2 (28,000/sq mi) |
Time zone | UTC+2 (EET) |
• Summer (DST) | UTC+3 (EEST) |
Postal code | 122 xx |
Area code(s) | 210 |
Vehicle registration | Z |
Website | www |
Geography
Aigaleo is four km (2.5 mi) west of Athens city centre. The municipality has an area of 6.450 km2 (2.490 sq mi).[2] It is southeast of Mount Aigaleo. The Cephissus river flows through the industrialized eastern part of the municipality; about 1/4 of its area is taken up by factory developments. The town is served by two Metro stations: Egaleo and Agia Marina metro stations. The Motorway 1 (Athens-Thessaloniki-Evzones) passes through the town.
Aigaleo consists of the quarters Kato Aigaleo, Neo Aigaleo, Damarakia, Lioumi, Rosika, Agios Spyridonas and Agios Georgios.
History

Aigaleo was part of the municipality of Athens until 1934, when it became a separate community. It was raised to municipality status in 1943.[3]
On September 29, 1944, during the Axis occupation of Greece, a massacre of at least 65 civilians (with estimates ranging up to 150 casualties[4]) by the German forces took place in Aigaleo's Agios Georgios neighborhood.[5]
The city's present mayor is Giannis Gikas, since the 2019 Greek local elections.
Historical population
Year | Population |
---|---|
1940 | 17,686 (community) |
1951 | 29,464 |
1961 | 57,840 |
1971 | 79,961 |
1981 | 81,906 |
1991 | 78,563 |
2001 | 74,046 |
2011 | 69,946 |
Sports
Aigaleo hosts many sport teams. The most successful is the Athletic Club Egaleo with successful departments in football (Egaleo FC) and basketball (Egaleo BC). Other amateur clubs are A.P.O. Orfeas, A.E. Egaleo City, Diagoras Dryopideon, A.P.O. Ierapolis, A.O. Cronos
Notable sport clubs based in Egaleo | |||
---|---|---|---|
Club | Sports | Founded | Achievements |
A.P.O. Orfeas | Football | 1928 | Earlier presence in Beta Ethniki |
Egaleo | Football | 1946 | Earlier long-time presence in A Ethniki |
Basketball | 1956 | Earlier presence in A1 Ethniki |
Mayors
- Athanasios Papadopoulos (1934-1939, first president of the community "Nees Kydonies")
- Giorgos Kourousis (1939-1944)
- Ioannis Batzakidis (1944-1945)
- Athanasios Papadopoulos (1945-1946)
- Sosipatros Moros (1946)
- Aggelos Kouvelos (1946–1950)
- Chr. Katharios (1950-1951)
- Apostolos Stigas (1951–1954)
- Stavros Mavrothalassitis (1955–1967, 1975–1978)
- Georgios Martinis (1959)
- Orfeas Tzanetopoulos (appointed by the military government, 1967–74)
- Leandros Rakindzis (1974-1975)
- Panos Spiliopoulos (1979–1986, 1991–1994)
- Ioannis Mistakopoulos (1987–1990, 1995–2002)
- Dimitris Kalogeropoulos (2003–2010)
- Christos Kardaras (2010 – 31 August 2014)
- Dimitris Birbas (1 September 2014 – 31 August 2019)
- Giannis Gikas (1 September 2019 – present)[6]
People
- Rita Abatzi, Greek musician
- Keti Garbi, Greek singer
- Tassos Halkias, Greek actor
- Giorgos Zampetas, Greek musician
- Eleni Rantou, Greek actor
- Lakis Halkias, Greek musician
- Kostas Prekas, Greek actor
- Ioannes Dimaras, Greek politician and journalist
- Nasos Athanasiou, Greek journalist
- Giorgos Messalas, Greek actor
- Danis Katranidis, Greek actor
- Alexandros Asonitis, Greek writer
- Theofilos Verikios, Greek writer
- Giorgos Blanas, Greek writer
- Nikolaos Mihiotis, Greek writer
- Vicky Psarakis, Greek singer
International relations
Aigaleo is twinned with:
Leganés (Comunidad de Madrid), Spain
Kythrea, Cyprus (under Turkish occupation, since August 1974)
References
- "Απογραφή Πληθυσμού - Κατοικιών 2011. ΜΟΝΙΜΟΣ Πληθυσμός" (in Greek). Hellenic Statistical Authority.
- "Population & housing census 2001 (incl. area and average elevation)" (PDF) (in Greek). National Statistical Service of Greece. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2015-09-21.
- "EETAA local government changes". Retrieved 28 June 2020.
- "Digital Library - PDF Document". efimeris.nlg.gr. Retrieved 2022-07-19.
- "Digital Library - PDF Document". efimeris.nlg.gr. Retrieved 2022-07-19.
- "List of Mayors" (in Greek). Municipality of Aigaleo. 12 December 2018. Retrieved 2022-02-02.
Sources
- "Τέχνης έργα και πρόσωπα του Αιγάλεω" (Published by the Municipality of Egaleo)
- "Εξήντα χρόνια τοπική αυτοδιοίκηση στο Αιγάλεω" (Nikolaos Mihiotis)
- "Απ' τις Νέες Κυδωνίες στο Δήμο Αιγάλεω" (Eugenia Bournova)