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Municipality in North Athens, Greece

Nea Ionia

Nea Ionia

Key facts

population64,611
area4.4km²
instance ofcity
countryGreece
inception1923
elevation above sea level130m
All data from the card 14
Country
Greece
Administrative region
Attica
Regional unit
North Athens
• Mayor
Panagiotis Manouris (since 2023)
• Municipality
4.421 km2 (1.707 sq mi)
Elevation
130 m (430 ft)
• Municipality
64,611
• Density
14,610/km2 (37,850/sq mi)
Time zone
UTC+2 (EET)
• Summer (DST)
UTC+3 (EEST)
Postal code
142 xx
Area code
210
Vehicle registration
Z
Website
neaionia.gr

Nea Ionia (Greek: Νέα Ιωνία, meaning New Ionia) is a town and a northern suburb of the Athens agglomeration, Greece, and a municipality of the Attica region. It was named after Ionia, the region in Anatolia from which many Greeks migrated in the 1920s as a part of the population exchange between Greece and Turkey. Many of the town families originated from the town of Alanya which is currently a part of Turkey.

Nea Ionia is 7 km northeast of Athens city centre. The municipality has an area of 4.421 km2. It is served by three Line 1 metro stations: Nea Ionia, Pefkakia and Perissos.

History

In the past, the area was named Podarades after Greek Revolution Hero of Albanian origin Ziliftar Poda and his followers, settled in this area. The modern settlement was built after the Greco-Turkish War (1919-22) and the subsequent population exchange between Greece and Turkey in 1923. That year refugees, mainly from Pisidia of Asia Minor, settled in the area. The new settlement was originally named Nea Pisidia. But later, due to the arrival of many refugees from other places of Ionia, the settlement was finally named Nea Ionia. The suburb developed rapidly thanks to carpet handicrafts. The refugees carried their expertise to Athens and opened important carpet handicrafts. This branch was the main economical source for the residents of Nea Ionia for many years. Nea Ionia gradually increased its population and expanded into a large area. The suburb is composed of 13 neighborhoods: Nea Ionia (Center), Perissos, Inepoli, Pefkakia, Saframpoli, Neapoli, Eleftheroupoli, Alsoupoli, Kalogreza, Lazarou, Anthrakorihia, Irini, Omorfoklissia and Palaiologou.

Sports

Nea Ionia is the seat of the clubs O.F. Nea Ionia (Όμιλος Φιλάθλων Νέας Ιωνίας), club founded in 1926 with achievements in handball and Nea Ionia F.C. Other notable clubs are Eleftheroupoli F.C. with earlier presence in Beta Ethniki and DIKE.AS. Nea Ionia with current presence in A1 Ethniki handball. In the past there are also the important clubs PAO Saframpolis, PAO Kalogrezas and Ikaroi Neas Ionias which are inactive today.

Sport clubs based in Nea Ionia
Club Founded Sports Achievements
O.F. Nea Ionia 1926 Handball Panhellenic title in women handball
Eleftheroupoli F.C. 1929 Football Earlier presence in Beta Ethniki
Nea Ionia F.C. 1939 Football Presence in Gamma Ethniki
DIKE.AS. Nea Ionia 2004 Handball Presence in A1 handball men

Historical population

Year Population
1981 59,202
1991 60,635
2001 66,017
2011 67,134
2021 64,611

Notable residents

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Text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Source article