1. THE HISTORY OF NEA SMYRNI
5PRIMARY SCHOOL NEAS SMYRNIS
ATHENS, GREECE
GRADE 6A
2. Nea Smyrni ( "New Smyrna") is a historical and very nice suburb of Athens, between
the noisy center and the sandy coastline of the capital of Greece.
3.
4. The first inhabitants of our town were Greek refugees who used to live in Smyrna,
Minor Asia, today’s Izmir in Turkey. The city of Smyrna was inhabited by the Greeks
centuries B.C.
Smyrna
5. In 1922 following the Population exchange between Greece and Turkey, and after the
town of Smyrna was burnt down by the Turkish army, a lot of its Greek inhabitants had to
leave their houses, land and property and move to Greece. Some of them moved here ,
to Nea Smyrni, transforming the place into an urban area. So, the new suburb of Athens
was called Nea Smyrni (= New Smyrna) after Smyrna.
Smyrna on fire
6. The area was once partly made up of farmlands, with woods dominating the landscape,
and its mixed farming included pastures, vegetable gardens and forests to the east.
Building houses in Nea Smyrni
7. One of the most important Christian Orthodox churches in Smyrna was the
Church of Agia Fotini that was built in the 17th century AD. The bell tower of the
church was destroyed twice. The first inhabitants of Nea Smyrni built the
Cathedral of Agia Fotini and today a replica of the bell tower stands in the yard of
the church.
The bell tower of Agia
Fotini
In Smyrna In Nea Smyrni
8. Agia Fotini Cathedral and the
temple
The temple of the church was brought by the
refugees from another church in Smyrna.
9. A lot of our schools have taken their names after the names of the schools where
young Greeks studied in Smyrna. The most important ones are Evangeliki Scholi
and Kentriko High School called ( =Central).
Evangeliki Scholi in Smyrna
Kenrtiko High School in Smyrna
11. The athletic association of Panionios was founded in Smyrna in 1890 and it also moved
to Nea Smyrni in 1922. Today it is the most important athletic association in our town.
12. Today Nea Smyrni is mainly made up of residential areas with a few business
areas. It is connected with the centre of Athens by tram.
Its population is around 100.000 and our town has parks, schools, banks, post
offices, cinemas and squares with a good number of bars, cafes, restaurants
and shops.
The heart of the town is the Plateia (the main square) and Alsos (the central
park).
Plateia
13.
14. In the huge park of Nea Smyrni, Alsos, people do sports or watch an event in
the open air theatre during the summer and autumn months.
