Aigaleo

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)
• 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.aigaleo.gr

Aigaleo or Egaleo (Greek: Αιγάλεω pronounced [eˈɣaleo]) is a suburban municipality in the western part of Athens. It takes its name from Mount Aigaleo. Its population was 69,946 at the 2011 census.

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). 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 an Metro station: Egaleo metro station. The Motorway 1 (Piraeus-Thessaloniki) passes through the town.

Aigaleo consists of the quarters Kato Aigaleo, Neo Aigaleo, Damarakia, Lioumi, Rosika, Agios Spyridonas and Agios Georgios.

History

The municipal park of Egaleo, Attica

Aigaleo was part of the municipality of Attica until 1934, when it became a separate community. It was raised to municipality status in 1943.

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)

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)

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)

External links

• (in Greek) Municipality of Aigaleo