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  • 21 Aug, 2019

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Glyfada

Glyfada (Greek: Γλυφάδα, romanizedGlypháda, pronounced [ɣliˈfaða]) is a town and a suburb in the South Athens regional unit located in the Athens Riviera along the coast of Saronic Gulf. It is situated in the southern parts of the Athens urban area. The area stretches from the foot of the Hymettus mountain to the Saronic Gulf.

History

In ancient times, the area was a deme known as Aixone (Αἰξωνή). Today, Glyfada is packed with some of the capital's best-known nightclubs, upscale restaurants and shops. It could be argued to be one of the most "Americanized" of Athenian municipalities, since an American airbase was located nearby until the early 1990s. The base's population contributed in part to Glyfada's character, leading to a unique blend of Greek and American atmosphere and cuisine. Although the base is now gone and the school relocated, Glyfada still retains part of its American flavor while continuing to offer distinctly Greek cuisine, entertainment and nightlife.

Glyfada was established as the heart of Athens' southern suburbs, because of its prime waterfront location, rich commercial center, and modern business district. It has been described as the headpoint of the 'Athens Riviera' and features some of Europe's most opulent seafront residences, gardens and extensive beachfront property, with a modern marina.

The town hall is located at the center of the municipality; nearby, Glyfada's shopping district has one of the most vibrant and diversified commercial centers of Athens' neighborhoods, with a collection ranging across specialist and designer boutiques. Its proximity to a succession of Beaches and a concentrated seaside club scene also greatly increases the number of visitors during the summer months. The area's shopping district runs across Metaxa Avenue and Grigoriou Labraki Street while both the offices of major businesses and shopping areas also dot the Avenues Vouliagmenis, Gounari and Gennimata.

At the beginning of the 20th century the town had already changed its name to "Glyfada", a name given because of the presence of salt-water wells typical of this area.

Transportation

Poseidonos Avenue

Glyfada is connected to central Athens via two major avenues (Poseidonos Avenue and Vouliagmenis Avenue) and a tram line operated by STASY S.A which goes across the seaside next to Poseidonos Avenue. An extension of the Line 2 of Athens Metro from Elliniko station to the south, with two stations in Ano Glyfada and Glyfada is being planned. A version of these plans includes a third station between Ano Glyfada and Glyfada stations.

Municipality

32,492 people registered with the Municipality of Glyfada voted during the Municipal Elections of October 2006. At the second round, 54.79% of the votes were for Thanasis Papakostas, who was the mayor of Glyfada for the 2006–2010 period. Kostantinos Kokoris was just elected mayor. In 2014, George Papanikolaou was elected mayor in the Glyfada municipality.

Geography

The municipality has an area of 25.366 km and it is located in the Athens Riviera. Glyfada Marina includes marine space and coastal land area totaling 3 kilometres (2 miles), and a concrete land mass between basins A and B with a length of roughly 250 metres (820 feet), between basins B and G with a length of roughly 150 metres (490 feet), between basins G and D with a length of roughly 300 metres (980 feet), and between basin D until the end of the basin of roughly 350 metres (1,150 feet), with all harbor facilities and buildings found within this space.

Northwest is the golf course of Athens, the Glyfada Golf Club, located south of the former Ellinikon Airport. To the east and northeast there is an urban sprawl which spreads over the southwest shoulder of Mt. Hymettus and its rocky landscape.

Climate

There is no weather station in Glyfada with a history of at least thirty years to allow for a climate classification. Local extrapolations suggest that Glyfada has a hot-summer Mediterranean climate with mild winters and hot summers, with particularly warm summer nights. The driest months are during the summer while the rainiest period is during the autumn and early winter. See Elliniko climate for data from an official nearby weather station.

Climate data for Glyfada Golf (2019–2023)
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °C (°F) 22.4
(72.3)
21.7
(71.1)
24.6
(76.3)
27.9
(82.2)
35.1
(95.2)
41.0
(105.8)
42.3
(108.1)
45.2
(113.4)
38.2
(100.8)
31.5
(88.7)
26.3
(79.3)
21.4
(70.5)
45.2
(113.4)
Mean daily maximum °C (°F) 14.8
(58.6)
16.0
(60.8)
16.3
(61.3)
20.9
(69.6)
27.0
(80.6)
30.9
(87.6)
34.8
(94.6)
35.0
(95.0)
30.1
(86.2)
25.0
(77.0)
20.6
(69.1)
16.9
(62.4)
24.0
(75.2)
Daily mean °C (°F) 12.0
(53.6)
13.0
(55.4)
13.2
(55.8)
17.2
(63.0)
23.0
(73.4)
26.8
(80.2)
30.5
(86.9)
30.8
(87.4)
26.5
(79.7)
21.8
(71.2)
17.9
(64.2)
14.5
(58.1)
20.6
(69.1)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F) 9.3
(48.7)
9.8
(49.6)
10.0
(50.0)
13.6
(56.5)
19.0
(66.2)
22.7
(72.9)
26.2
(79.2)
26.6
(79.9)
22.9
(73.2)
18.6
(65.5)
15.1
(59.2)
12.1
(53.8)
17.1
(62.8)
Record low °C (°F) 0.7
(33.3)
0.0
(32.0)
2.1
(35.8)
7.9
(46.2)
13.3
(55.9)
16.3
(61.3)
20.6
(69.1)
20.4
(68.7)
16.4
(61.5)
13.6
(56.5)
10.0
(50.0)
3.2
(37.8)
0.0
(32.0)
Average rainfall mm (inches) 35.1
(1.38)
13.0
(0.51)
16.0
(0.63)
8.3
(0.33)
6.7
(0.26)
14.5
(0.57)
5.2
(0.20)
13.0
(0.51)
6.4
(0.25)
25.0
(0.98)
41.4
(1.63)
60.3
(2.37)
244.9
(9.62)
Source: Davis WeatherLink Network (Jun 2019 - Jan 2023)

Sports

The Glyfada Indoor Hall is located at the Municipality, formerly a major indoor sport venue of local Athens teams. Glyfada is the seat of ANO Glyfada, club with many honours in Greek Water Polo and Glyfada F.C.

Sport clubs based in Glyfada
Club Founded Sports Achievements
ANO Glyfada 1946 Water Polo Panhellenic titles in Water Polo both Men and Women teams
Terpsithea Glyfada B.C. 1958 Basketball, Football Presence in A1 Ethniki women
Glyfada F.C.
(founded as Keravnos Glyfada)
1976 Football Presence in Gamma Ethniki
Spartakos Glyfadas 1979 Baseball Panhellenic titles in baseball
G.S.Glyfadas. 1997 Athletics Panhellenic titles(outdoor, indoor, cross country)
Spartakos Glyfadas 1979 Baseball Panhellenic titles in baseball

Famous residents and people

Historical population

Year Population
1981 44,018
1991 63,306
2001 80,409
2011 87,305
2021 89,597

Districts

Twin cities

Glyfada is twinned with the following cities:

See also

References

  1. ^ Municipality of Glyfada, Municipal elections – October 2023, Ministry of Interior
  2. ^ "Αποτελέσματα Απογραφής Πληθυσμού - Κατοικιών 2021, Μόνιμος Πληθυσμός κατά οικισμό" [Results of the 2021 Population - Housing Census, Permanent population by settlement] (in Greek). Hellenic Statistical Authority. 29 March 2024.
  3. ^ "Επέκταση του Μετρό σε Γλυφάδα, Καλλιθέα, Πετρούπολη και ΠΥΡΚΑΛ". www.news247.gr (in Greek). Retrieved 19 August 2022.
  4. ^ "Population & housing census 2001 (incl. area and average elevation)" (PDF) (in Greek). National Statistical Service of Greece. Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 September 2015.
  5. ^ "WeatherLink Login".