Agia Paraskevi
Agia Paraskevi
In antiquity it was part of the great Municipality of Flyas that belonged to the Kedropyda tribe and was a point of mystical ceremonies with the most important Phrygian Great Mother's Ceremonies (the Great Mother refers to the Mother of Gods, Cybele), which their duration reached as far back as the 4th Century A.D..
In Byzantine times, the area flourished around the Monastery of St. John the Hunter or the Monastery of the Philosophers as it was otherwise known, while in the 19th Century Hale Beis – who owned the area – sold it to Count Antonios Botsaris. He, in turn, sold it in 1850 to 9 residents of Halandri.
The Municipality has an area of 7,935 km², a population - according to the 2011 census - 59,704 inhabitants, is at an altitude of 206 m and borders with the Municipalities of Holargos, Halandri, Gerakas, and Glikon Neron.
Agia Paraskevi began to grow massively in the beginning of the 20th Century with the permanent settlement of residents and, until 1921, it belonged to the Municipality of Athens. As a community, it was first recognized in 1929, it was abolished in the same year, to be re-established in 1931. In 1963, it was claimed autonomously as a Municipality.
In the same year, the "Demokritos" Nuclear Research Center was inaugurated, while later during the Junta period, the Radio Mansion of ERT (Hellenic Broadcasting Television) was erected on Mesogeion Avenue. Along the 1970s, 80s, and 90s, Agia Paraskevi was booming and today it is one of the largest shopping areas in Attica with numerous shops while enjoying lush natural vegetation, mainly due to the mountain, with beautiful natural landscapes, emerging through squares, parks, places for walking and cycling. Note that the American College of Greece, Deree, is also found in this beautiful area.
The suburb has a good public transport network, as it is served by the Doukissis Plakentias (Athens Metro and suburban railway) station, the Halandri Metro Station, the "Nomismatokopio" Metro Station, and the Agia Paraskevi Metro Station. It also links Mesogeion Avenue to the Regional Ymmitos.
