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Piraeus

Πειραιάς
Clockwise: Piraeus station, a statue of Poseidon, Mikrolimano and Piraeus Municipal Theatre
Clockwise: Piraeus station, a statue of Poseidon, Mikrolimano and Piraeus Municipal Theatre
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Country Greece
Administrative region Attica
Regional unit Piraeus
Area
 • Urban
50.417 km2 (19.466 sq mi)
 • Municipality 10.865 km2 (4.195 sq mi)
Highest elevation
87 m (285 ft)
Lowest elevation
0 m (0 ft)
Population
 (2011)
 • Urban
448,997
 • Urban density 8,905.67/km2 (23,065.57/sq mi)
 • Municipality
163,688
 • Municipality density 15,065.6/km2 (39,019.8/sq mi)
Time zone UTC+2 (EET)
 • Summer (DST) UTC+3 (EEST)
Postal code
185 xx
Area code(s) 21
Vehicle registration Υ
Website www.pireasnet.gr
Patron saint: Saint Spyridon (12 December)

Piraeus is a port city in the region of Attica, Greece. Piraeus is located within the Athens urban area, 12 kilometres (7 miles) southwest from its city centre (municipality of Athens), and lies along the east coast of the Saronic Gulf.

According to the 2011 census, Piraeus had a population of 163,688 people within its administrative limits, making it the fourth largest municipality in Greece and the second largest within the urban area of the Greek capital, following the municipality of Athens. The municipality of Piraeus and several other suburban municipalities within the regional unit of Piraeus form the greater Piraeus area, with a total population of 448,997, and is part οf Athens urban area.

Piraeus has a long recorded history, dating to ancient Greece. The city was founded in the early 5th century BC, when this area was selected to become the new port of classical Athens and was built as a prototype harbour, concentrating all the import and transit trade of Athens. During the Golden Age of Athens the Long Walls were constructed to fortify Athens and its port (Piraeus). Consequently, it became the chief harbour of ancient Greece, but declined gradually after the 3rd century B.C., growing once more in the 19th century, after Athens' declaration as the capital of Greece. In the modern era, Piraeus is a large city, bustling with activity and an integral part of Athens, acting as home to the country's biggest harbour and bearing all the characteristics of a huge marine and commercial-industrial center.

The port of Piraeus is the chief port in Greece, the largest passenger port in Europe and the second largest in the world, servicing about 20 million passengers annually. With a throughput of 1.4 million TEUs, Piraeus is placed among the top ten ports in container traffic in Europe and the top container port in the Eastern Mediterranean. The city hosted events in both the 1896 and 2004 Summer Olympics held in Athens. The University of Piraeus is one of the largest universities in Greece.

Piraeus Mikrolimano1
Mikrolimano.
Piraeus harbor 3-2004
Harbor.
Port of Piraeus
Port of Piraeus.
Peiraias teatr
Municipal theatre.
Karaiskakis Stadium Piraeus Olympiacos-Arsenal
Karaiskakis Stadium, home of Olympiacos.

Sister cities

Famous residents

Mayors of Piraeus

Universities and technological institutes

  • University of Piraeus
  • Technological Education Institute of Piraeus

Images for kids

  • 7669 - Piraeus Arch. Museum, Athens - 330s BC stele for a girl - Photo by Giovanni Dall'Orto, Nov 14 200

    Funerary relief for a girl, flanked by her parents (330/320 BC); Archaeological Museum of Piraeus.

  • AtheneOudheid

    The Long Walls connecting the ancient city of Athens to its port of Piraeus.

  • Piraeus 1837

    The customs office of the port of Piraeus in 1837. Watercolor by the Bavarian captain Ludwig Köllnberger.

  • Piraeus-Saint Spyridon 1887

    The city of Piraeus and the church of Saint Spyridon; postcard of 1887.

  • Eetioneia Gate (Piraeus)3

    Part of Eetioneia, the ancient gate to the harbour and part of the fortification of Piraeus, built during the Peloponnesian War.

  • Veakio-2 Piraeus

    The Veakeio Theater (former Skylitseio) on the hill of Kastella, with view to the Saronic Gulf, Mount Hymettus and the southeastern part of Athens.

  • Hellenic Maritime Museum frontyard

    External view of the Hellenic Maritime Museum in Freatida.

  • Peace and Friendship stadium 02 03 2014

    Peace and Friendship Stadium

  • Attica 06-13 Piraeus 03 Megaron Navtikou

    The building of the Maritime Retirement Fund (NAT)

  • Akti Miaouli - panoramio (1)

    Akti Miaouli at the port.

  • Metro Station of Piraeus2

    Inside view of Piraeus station, next to the seaport.

  • 20090412-Piraeus-FIAT-704

    Preserved vintage trolleybus of Piraeus-Kastella line.

  • Attica 06-13 Piraeus 05 StSpyridon Church

    Church of Saint Spyridon; patron saint of Piraeus

  • University of Piraeus primary building

    University of Piraeus main building

  • Piraeus port 19th century

    Piraeus in the late 19th century

  • Piraeus map 1908

    Map of Piraeus, 1908

  • Lion of Piraeus

    A modern copy of the "Piraeus Lion"

  • Piraeus Kastella1

    View of Kastella

  • Piraeus - church of saint Nicholas 02

    The church of St.Nicholas

  • Karaiskakis Faliro monument

    Monument to Georgios Karaiskakis

  • Agios Konstantinos Piraeus

    Church of Sts. Constantine and Helen

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