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Pagrati Παγκράτι | |
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Neighborhood | |
 Pagrati district as seen fromthe Acropolis | |
 Location within municipality of Athens | |
| Coordinates:37°58′05″N23°44′38″E / 37.96806°N 23.74389°E /37.96806; 23.74389 | |
| Country | Greece |
| Region | Attica |
| City | Athens |
| Postal code | 116 33, 116 34, 116 35, 116 36, 106 74, 161 21 |
| Area code | 210 |
| Website | www.cityofathens.gr |
Pagrati (Greek:Παγκράτι) is a neighborhood inAthens,Greece, having an estimated population of 35,173 residents. Named after the ancient sanctuary ofHercules Pancrates ("All Powerful"), its frontage runs fromVasilissis Sofias Avenue along toVasileos Konstantinou Avenue and Vassileos Alexandrou Avenue, just a few minutes walk from theNational Gardens. One of the most important landmarks of Pagrati is thePanathinaiko Stadium that hosted the first modernOlympic Games in 1896. TheFirst Cemetery of Athens, the official cemetery for the City of Athens, lies within the neighborhood's limits.
Pagrati includes theIlissos river valley and extends to the south as far as thePanathinaic Stadium and theFirst Cemetery of Athens. Its eastern boundary was once defined by theHymettus Mountain slopes but with the extension of the city in interwar period the modern eastern boundary is Nikiforidi Str. andIliados Str., including Deliolani Square. To the north and northeast, the area fades intoHilton andNational Gallery area, but it is considered that the area north of Vassileos Alexandrou Ave. as far north toHilton Athens hotel and northeast as Andreas Syngros Hospital is part of Pagrati. Pagrati is bordered by theKolonaki (Greek:Κολωνάκι) neighborhood to the west, theIlisia (Greek:Ιλίσια) neighborhood and theKaisariani (Greek:Καισαριανή) to the north, theVyronas (Greek:Βύρωνας) andDafni-Ymittos (Greek:Δάφνη-Υμηττός) municipalities to the east, and theNeos Kosmos (Greek:Νέος Κόσμος) neighborhood to the south. It is not to be confused as a separate suburb, as it is part of theCity of Athens proper. However, it is frequently mistaken as such, possibly because of it bordering the actual suburban towns of Vyronas and Kaisariani.
In the second decade of the 21st century, Pagrati has experienced a renaissance as a destination forhipsters,[1] with concomitantgentrification,house price increases, and a decrease inhousing affordability.[2]
Pangrati has numerous squares: Plastira, Pangratiou ("of Pangrati"), Messolongiou, Proskopon, Profitis Ilias, Agios Spyridon, Deliolani and Varnava. Pangrati Square is home to the Pangrati Grove, together with a major street named Spirou Merkouri, which runs intoVassileos Konstantinou Ave and up towardsEvangelismos Metro Station. Agios Spyridon Square features the Saint Spyridon Church and Profitis Ilias Square features the Church of the ProphetElijah (Greek:Προφήτης Ηλίας), and the Imittou Avenue, which runs through the entire span of Pangrati starting from Kaisariani; around Varnava Square is the area behind theKallimarmaro Stadium hosting classy restaurants and various tavernas, while Plastira Square serves as a stop for all three trolley networks and local bus routes. Proskopon Square, just behind thePresidential Mansion also hosts classy restaurants, bars and cafes.
Pangrati has attracted artists from all over Greece, who arrive in the city of Athens to educate themselves and to seek inspiration from its vast pool of artistic resources and galleries. Poets, novelists, writers, painters, composers, musicians made Pangrati one of the most important artistic hubs of Athens. One of the most important Greek poets of the 20th century and a Nobel laureate,Giorgos Seferis lived in Pangrati.Manos Hatzidakis, composer who also received anAcademy Award for Best Original Song for his songNever on Sunday from the film of the same name is the personality mostly associated with this Athenian neighbourhood. Other artists who lived in Pangrati includeNikiforos Vrettakos,Yiannis Moralis,Kostas Varnalis,Dimitris Psathas and many others.
TheNational Gallery of Athens, a museum primarily devoted to post-Byzantine Greek Art was renovated recently in a $71,60 million expansion project,[3] hosts the biggest collection of Greek paintings making it one of the most important spots of the neighbourhood. TheNational Hellenic Research Foundation is also located in Pangrati.Maria Callas, the famous soprano, has also studied in theAthens Conservatoire, which lies within Pangrati, just next to the Cult ofHercules Pankrates, directly beneath theHarry S. Truman statue inVassileos Konstantinou Avenue. At Agios Spyridon Church, a new museum has changed the cultural map of Athens as theGoulandris Museum of Contemporary Art opened its gates in October 2019. The Goulandris Museum hosts a world class collection of works byPicasso,Chagall,Van Gogh,Gauguin,El Greco,Degas, Klee, Kandinsky,Rodin,Cézanne,Monet,Miró, Giacometti,Pollock,Bacon and others as well as by prominent Greek artists including George Bouzianis,Yannis Tsarouchis,Nikos Hadjikyriakos-Ghika,Yannis Moralis and Michalis Tombos.Princeton University has recently inaugurated theAthens Center for Research and Hellenic Studies in Pangrati. The Center is housed in theStanley J. Seeger ’52 House, a 1930s-era townhouse. It is the one and only research and scholarship center ofPrinceton University anywhere outside of the United States.
Pangrati is served byEvangelismos metro station, by buses #054, 203, 204, 209, 732 and trolleys #2, 4 and 11. Recent information released by theElliniko Metro (the constructor of theAthens Metro) has suggested that there will be a future metro station on the border of Pangrati and Kaisariani on Imittou Street, to be named Pangrati/Kaisariani, on the proposedLine 4.[4]
Places adjacent to Pangrati | |
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