Rafina () is a suburban port town located on the eastern coast of Attica in Greece. It has a population of 14,620 inhabitants (2021 census). The municipal unit has an area of 18.979&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup>. It is part of the Athens metropolitan area.

Geography

Rafina lies on the Aegean Sea coast, east of Mount Pentelicus and northeast of the Mesogaia plain. It is north of Artemida, south of Nea Makri and east of Athens city centre. The municipal unit of Rafina contains, besides the city itself, a large portion of the surrounding area, which is mostly woodland and farmland. The only other town is Kallitechnoupoli.

Rafina is a port town serving ferries to the southern part of Euboea as well as most of the Cyclades. Its port acts as the second port of Athens, after the Athens' port of Piraeus.

History

thumb|Aerial view

Rafina suffered damage from a forest fire in July 2005 and again in 2018.

Historical population

{| class=wikitable

! Year !! Town population !! Municipality population

|-

| 1981 || 4,994 || –

|-

| 1991 || 8,282 || 8,611

|-

| 2001 || 10,173 || 10,701

|-

| 2011 || 12,168 || 13,091

|-

| 2021 || 13,604 || 14,620

|}

Culture

Sports

Rafina is the seat of two football clubs with presence in third national division (Gamma Ethniki), Triglia Rafina club founded in 1932 by refugees, and Thyella Rafina club founded in 1957.

{|class="wikitable"

|-

!colspan="4"|Sport clubs based in Rafina

|-

!width="150"|Club

!Founded

!Sports

!Achievements

|-

|Triglia Rafina F.C.||1932||Football ||Presence in Gamma Ethniki

|-

|Thyella Rafina F.C.||1957 ||Football ||Presence in Gamma Ethniki

|}

Notable residents

  • Robert Pires (French footballer)
  • Kostas Karamanlis, former Greek prime minister
  • Simon Rrumbullaku Albanian-Greek football player.

International relations

Rafina is twinned with:

  • Pano Lefkara, Cyprus
  • Triglia, Chalkidiki

See also

  • List of municipalities of Attica
  • Panagia Pantobasilissa church, Rafina

References

  • Official website
  • triglianoi.gr
  • e-rafina.gr