Piraeus facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Piraeus
Πειραιάς
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![]() 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)
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• 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
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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.

Contents
Sister cities
- Marseille, France
- Worcester, Massachusetts, USA
- Ostrava, Czech republic
- Baltimore, Maryland, USA
- Galaţi, Romania
since 1985
- Varna, Bulgaria
- Vilnius, Lithuania
Famous residents
- Polychronis Lembesis (1848-1913) painter
- Ioannis Koutsis (18601953) painter
- Gerasimos Vokos (1868-1927) journalist and writer
- Alexandros Christofis (1875-1957) painter
- Stylianos Miliadis (1881-1965) writer
- Yiorgos Batis (1885-1967) rebetiko musician
- Dimitris Pikionis (1887-1968) architect
- Michalis Oikonomou (1888-1933) painter
- Katina Paxinou (1900–1973) actress
- Markos Vamvakaris (1905-1972) musician and composer
- Emmanuel Kriaras (1906) philologist and lexicographer
- Yannis Tsarouchis (1910-1989) painter
- Dimitrios Gavriilidis (1914) artist
- Michalis Genitsaris (1917-2005) singer and composer
- Andreas Krystallis (1919-1951) painter
- Ektor Kaknavatos (1920) poet
- Nicola Zaccaria (1923-2007) opera singer
- Thanasis Veggos (1926) actor and film director
- Andreas Mouratis (1926) footballer
- John S. Romanides (1927-2001) priest and theologian
- Archbishop Anastasios of Albania (1929)
- Dimitris Papamichael (1931-2004)
- Costas Simitis (1936) economist and politician, Prime Minister of Greece
- Jannis Kounellis (1936) sculptor
- Tolis Voskopoulos (1940) singer and actor
- Thodoris Dritsas (1947) politician
- George Dalaras (1949) singer
- Yiannis Kyrastas (1952-2004) footballer and football manager
- Eleftheria Arvanitaki (1956) singer
- Mando (1966) singer
- Grigoris Georgatos (1973) footballer
- Spyros Paliouras (1975-1957) writer
- Nikolaos Pavlopoulos (1909-1990) sculptor and writer
- The Andrianopoulos brothers, founders of the Olympiacos sporting club
Mayors of Piraeus
- Christos Agrapidis (1999-2006)
- Panagiotis Fasoulas (2007- )
Universities and technological institutes
- University of Piraeus
- Technological Education Institute of Piraeus
Images for kids
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The Long Walls connecting the ancient city of Athens to its port of Piraeus.
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Part of Eetioneia, the ancient gate to the harbour and part of the fortification of Piraeus, built during the Peloponnesian War.
![]() | Hypatia |
![]() | Agnodice |
![]() | Aglaonice |
![]() | Mary the Jewess |