Rafina is the port of the Mediterranean, on the coast of Eastern Attica. It covers an area of 19,000 acres and its population amounts to 12,168 inhabitants, according to the 2011 census. It is about 25 km away from Athens. Today, its port is one of the largest in Greece and has great mobility.
It is a historic municipality,
inhabited since prehistoric times. In 3200 BC. The prehistoric
settlement of Askitari was built on the homonymous small rocky
peninsula just south of the place where Marikes beach is today. The
settlement of Askitarios was in great prosperity during the period
(3200 - 2000), for example, small rectangular buildings were found
with stone walls at the base, brick ones above and a small hearth in
the center separated by paths in building blocks, a cemetery to the
south and a citadel . The excavations at the Hermitage were carried
out during the three years (1952 - 1954) by the professor of
prehistoric archeology of the University of Athens Dimitris
Theocharis. The word Askitario later came from a rocky cave which a
monk from the Penteli Monastery had turned into a sanctuary. North
of the Rafina stream on the beach between the stream and the main
port, copper processing facilities were also found.
The
Hermitage had fallen into decline since the beginning of the first
millennium BC. then the central settlement of Rafina or Arafina was
created in the place where the central port is today. The
municipality of Arafinia or the municipality of Arafinos was one of
the municipalities of ancient Athens defined by Cleisthenes, with
the name "Arafin". It took its name from its first governor,
Arafinas, who was one of the mythical heroes of Attica. Excavations
in the area also found evidence from the Roman period (buildings,
Roman bath, statues).
During the Asia Minor
catastrophe of 1922, many inhabitants of Triglia in Asia Minor came
to Rafina, most of them by ships of the Triglian shipowner Filippos
Kavounidis. They settled in Rafina and formed a refugee settlement
called "Nea Triglia", which, however, did not prevail. But there is
a house-museum which has been preserved since they came due to the
destruction of Smyrna. He belonged to a family that had come and
settled in Rafina after the disaster. The museum also includes all
the furniture and equipment of the family that inhabited it.
The refugees built the Holy Church of the Assumption of the Virgin
Mary in the center of the city very close to the port. In 1929 the
construction of the first church was completed but there were no
icons from the churches of Triglia because those that had been saved
by the Turks went to the Byzantine Museum. The Byzantine museum
initially refused because some icons such as the "Holy Visit" had a
very high value, but after many attempts they managed to extract
them in the same year. The small church of Agios Fanourios that was
erected right next to it was the Holy Table of the church. In the
1950s, almost the entire old town of Rafina was demolished to make
way for the modern town. At the same time, the first church of the
Assumption of the Virgin of Pantovasilissi was demolished, only the
small church of Agios Fanourios, which can be seen today, was saved
and OTE Rafina was built on the site of the first church. The second
church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary of Pantovasilissi that
we see today next to the main square was built very close to the
first, the work was completed in 1958 is the patron saint of the
city.
It is bordered to the north by Mati Attica, to the south by Artemisa, to the west by the districts of Neo Voutza and Kallitechnoupoli and to the east by the South Euboean Gulf, it is approximately in the center of the eastern coast of Attica. The most central road of Eastern Attica, Marathon Avenue, crosses it in the west, while the large Avenue Al. Fleming with an island starts from Marathon ending directly in a very short distance to the city center and the port.
In 1929 the community of Rafina was established for the first time, while in 1994 Rafina became a Municipality of the Prefecture of Attica with A. Kehagioglou as its first mayor. With the Kallikratis administrative reform plan, it was united in 2011 with the community of Pikermio in the unified municipality of Rafina - Pikermio. George Christopoulos was the first mayor of the Kallikratiko Municipality of Rafina - Pikermio (2011), he was succeeded (2014) by Vassilis Pistikidis. After the 2019 elections, the mayor is Evangelos Bournos.
Rafina is located in the center of Eastern Attica and is the second
largest port of the prefecture after Piraeus and one of the largest in
the country. It is a densely populated area in the center near the port
but it has large areas with parks and green areas such as two large
beaches, the first one next to the port and the second the most popular
Marikes beach in Avlaki position in the south near the border with
Artemisa. It is connected at a very close distance to Artemisa via
Arafinos Street where there is the Rafina Municipal Swimming Pool and
the Meltemi holiday settlement also at Avlaki.
Today, Rafina is
essentially a suburb of Athens, thanks to Attiki Odos which improved
access from the city center since it joins Marathon Avenue in
neighboring Pikermi. In recent years it has experienced great growth, as
more and more cruise lines choose its port. The city is 25 kilometers
from the center of Athens. Ecclesiastically, Rafina belongs to the Holy
Metropolis of Mesogaia and Lavreotiki - 1st Archpriestial District of
Spata - Rafina with 4 large parishes the Holy Church of the Dormition of
the Virgin Pantovasilissis Rafina, the Holy Church of the Ascension of
the Lord from the Crucifixion Rafina, the Holy Trinity Church in the
Rafina Precincts and the Holy Church Dormition of the Virgin Mary in the
Precincts of Rafina. Pantovasilissa Rafina is the patron saint of
Rafina, the temple was erected in 1957 in the center of the city at the
intersection of Fleming and Arafina avenues on the site of the older
first temple. It has a catechetical school and celebrates on September 8
with grandiose events.
The Municipal Stadium of Rafina is located
in the center of the city on Arafinidon Alon Street on the coastal road
around the port between the Rafina Town Hall and the central square of
the city, it is the headquarters of the football team A.O. Triglia
Rafina. The Stadium was named Panagiotis Skoufos in honor of the
international Rafiniotis international Greek footballer who started with
the team Triglia and finished his football career with Proodevetis and
Aris Nikias
Kallitechnoupoli and Neos Voutzas are the two large regional districts of Rafina, west of Marathon Avenue at the foot of Penteli, and have always belonged to the Municipality of Rafina. Many holiday homes and permanent residences are built on them.
The rest of the urban complex of Rafina is divided into two: in its densely populated northern part, which extends north of Avenue Al. Fleming and up to Mati Attica, and in the sparsely populated, rural, southern part of it, extending south of Avenue Al. Fleming and to the border with Artemis. The fairly densely populated northern part, with an urban form, includes the districts of Diastavrosa, Neoktista, Kiupi and Neos Pontos. The Intersection is the best known of the northern districts, it is located at the junction of Marathon Avenue and Alex Avenue. Fleming and in it is the Holy Parish Church of the Ascension of the Lord of the Cross. The coastal road of Arafinid Aleon crosses the city center outside the port and around it are located the Town Hall, the Municipal Stadium, various banks, the large hotel Avra and large restaurants and department stores.
On the southern border with Artemisa there are the very sparsely populated districts of Ampelakia, Agia Triada, Panorama, Drosia and Avlaki, with many barren unused plots. The border between the two municipalities is Arionos Street, which starts from Marathonos Avenue in Pikermi. It includes the largest part of Rafina, a vast area between Marathon Avenue and Alex Avenue. Fleming, Rafinos Avenue and Arionos Street. Ampelakia, as the most famous district, have given their name to the entire region. The rather sparsely populated area has been classified as a forest as a whole and is outside the Town Plan. The result of this is that the residents face problems, as their residences have been labeled arbitrary. In Ampelakia there are 2 of the 4 parish churches of Rafina: The Holy Trinity Church of Perivolakion Rafina, in Agia Triada and next to Marathon Avenue, and the Holy Church of the Dormition of the Virgin Mary Perivolakion Rafina, which was built in 1985. Apart from the two parish churches there are a number of smaller churches, such as that of the Prophet Elias.
The eastern districts of Rafina such as Orechalkurgoi, Nireas, Proteas are located in a limited area east of Arafinos Avenue up to the shores of the Euboikos. They are quite densely populated with well-built long roads, in the area there is Beach A of Rafina, one of the largest beaches in Attica, and the privately owned holiday settlement of Meltemi on the border with Artemisa, but there is a great lack of shops for basic necessities. In Meltemi, on a small peninsula between Meltemi and Rafina Beach A', there is the archaeological prehistoric settlement of Amaryllis.
The municipality of Rafina has four primary schools, four kindergartens, a nursery school, a public kindergarten, two private kindergartens, a high school and a high school. Rafina also has two football teams, a basketball team, a volleyball team (DAS ARAFIN) and a beach soccer team. In fact, one of the phases of the Panhellenic championship was organized in Rafina for the second consecutive year. In the city there is an intellectual center and a lending library.
Triglia Rafina
A.O. Triglia Rafina is an amateur football club
based in Rafina. It was founded in 1932 by the union of small unofficial
youth groups, its colors are yellow and black, its emblem is the
double-headed eagle and as its headquarters the club uses the "Rafina
Municipal Stadium "Panagiotis Skoufos"". From the 2010-2011 season, he
competes in the 9th group of the 4th National Team.
Storm Rafina
The A.P.O. "Storm" of Crossing Rafina is an amateur football club that
in the year 2016-17 competes in the 3rd National League. It was founded
in 1957 in Rafina by the loggers working there, its colors are green and
white and the club uses the "Panagiotis Skoufos Municipal Field of
Rafina" as its headquarters. Until 1979 the team competed without having
joined any league. In 1980, the team took part for the first time in the
championship of the EPS of Athens. The coach of the team is Vlasis
Hadjianastasiou who has been with the club since 2003 working in the
infrastructure departments of the club