Peristeri (Greek: Περιστέρι, meaning "pigeon/dove" in Greek) is a city and a suburban municipality in the western part of the Athens agglomeration, Greece. With 133,630 inhabitants (2021 census), Its built-up area is continuous with that of central Athens and the neighbouring suburbs Aigaleo, Chaidari, Petroupoli, Ilion, and Agioi Anargyroi.

Transportation

The A1 motorway (Athens–Thessaloniki–Evzonoi) passes through the southeastern part of the municipality. Athinon Avenue (Greek National Road 8 Athens-Korinthos-Patras) passes through the southwestern part. Peristeri is served by three Athens metro stations on Line 2: Anthoupoli, Peristeri, and Agios Antonios. The Kifissos Bus Terminal where long-distance buses from Peloponnese, Epirus, Macedonia, Ionian Islands, and Thrace arrive, stands at the east border of Peristeri near Sepolia.

Historical population

{| class="wikitable"

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! Year !! Population

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| 1991 || 137,288

|-

| 2001 || 137,918

|-

| 2011 || 139,981

|-

| 2021 || 133,630

|}

Sports

The most important sports clubs that are based in Peristeri are Atromitos, that has had a presence in the Super League Greece and in the UEFA Europa League, and Peristeri, that has had a long-time presence in the Greek Basketball League and in several European-wide competitions, such as the EuroLeague, the FIBA Basketball Champions League, the FIBA Korac Cup, and the FIBA Europe Cup.

{|class="wikitable"

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!colspan="4"|Notable sport clubs based in Peristeri

|-

!width="150"|Club

!Founded

!Sports

!Achievements

|-

|Atromitos||1923||Football || Presence in the Super League Greece and the UEFA Europa League

|-

|Peristeri||1971||Basketball || Presence in the Greek Basketball League and the EuroLeague

|-

|}

Peristeri Arena

The Peristeri Arena (or Andreas Papandreou Arena), is an indoor basketball sporting arena. The seating capacity of the arena is 4,000 people. The arena is owned by the municipality of Peristeri. The arena is currently home to the Greek professional basketball team Peristeri Athens, of the Greek Basketball League.

The arena was opened in the year 1989. The arena is named after the late Andreas Papandreou, who was a former prime minister of Greece. The arena is an older, smaller version of the Larissa Neapolis Arena and the Dimitris Tofalos Arena, which were based on Peristeri Arena, but were built 6 years later, and with larger seating capacities.

Landmarks

  • Cathedral
  • Peristeri Arena
  • Peristeri Stadium
  • Town Hall

Culture

Peristeri has one municipal outdoor cinema and four municipal theatres.

Economy at 1900s

On November 5, 1933, the establishment of the company "Lignitoryheia Attikis S.A." was announced, with the aim of exploiting the coal deposits in the area. Mining began two years later.

Notable people

  • Angela Dimitriou, singer
  • Evangelos Koronios, professional basketball player and coach
  • Giannis Poulopoulos, singer-songwriter
  • Grigoris Bithikotsis (1922–2005), singer and songwriter
  • Nikoleta Kyriakopoulou (born 1986), Pole vault athlete
  • Vangelis Ploios, actor
  • Vangelis Mantzaris, basketball player
  • Leonidas Michailidis, brain surgeon
  • Orfeas Tzortzopoulos, drummer of Suicidal Angels
  • Argiris Pedoulakis, professional basketball player and coach
  • Konstantinos Argiros, singer

International relations

Peristeri is twinned with:

  • Iaşi, Romania
  • Rousse, Bulgaria

References