Peristeri

Peristeri (Greek: Περιστέρι, meaning "pigeon/dove" in Greek) is a city and a suburban municipality in the western part of the Athens agglomeration, Greece. With 133,630 inhabitants (2021 census), it is the seventh-largest municipality and city of Greece by population.

History
The ancient deme Leuconoe, is believed to have been located at Peristeri.

Geography
Peristeri is located about 4 km northwest of the centre of Athens. It lies between the Egaleo Mountain in the northwest and the Cephissus river in the southeast. The municipality has an area of 10.50 km2. Its built-up area is continuous with that of central Athens and the neighbouring suburbs Aigaleo, Chaidari, Petroupoli, Ilion and Agioi Anargyroi.

Transportation
Motorway 1 (Athens-Thessaloniki) passes through the southeastern part of the municipality. Athinon Avenue (Greek National Road 8 Athens-Korinthos-Patras) passes through the southwestern part. Peristeri is served by three Athens metro stations on Line 2: Anthoupoli, Peristeri and Agios Antonios. The Kifissos Bus Terminal where long-distance buses from Peloponnese, Epirus, Macedonia, Ionian Islands and Thrace arrive, stands at the east border of Peristeri near Sepolia.

Sports
The most important sport clubs based in Peristeri are Atromitos with presence in Super League Greece and Europa League qualification rounds  and Peristeri BC, with long-time presence in A1 Ethniki basketball & in European competitions, such as the FIBA Korać Cup, Euroleague & FIBA Europe Cup.

Peristeri Arena
The Peristeri Arena (or Andreas Papandreou Arena) is an indoor basketball sporting arena. The seating capacity of the arena is 4,000 people. The arena is owned by the municipality of Peristeri. The arena is currently home to the Greek professional basketball team Peristeri Athens of the Greek A1 League.

The hall was opened in the year 1989. The arena is named after the late Andreas Papandreou, who was the former prime minister of Greece. The arena is an older, smaller version of the Larissa Neapolis Arena and the Dimitris Tofalos Arena, which were based on Peristeri Arena, but built 6 years later and with a larger seating capacity.

Landmarks

 * Cathedral
 * Peristeri Arena
 * Peristeri Stadium
 * Town Hall

Culture
Peristeri has one municipal outdoor cinema and four municipal theatres.

Economy at 1900s
On November 5, 1933, the establishment of the company "Lignitoryheia Attikis S.A." was announced, with the aim of exploiting the coal deposits in the area. Mining began two years later.

Notable people

 * Angela Dimitriou, singer
 * Evangelos Koronios, professional basketball player and coach
 * Giannis Poulopoulos, singer-songwriter
 * Grigoris Bithikotsis (1922–2005), singer and songwriter
 * Nikoleta Kyriakopoulou (born 1986), Pole vault athlete
 * Vangelis Ploios, actor
 * Vangelis Mantzaris, basketball player
 * Leonidas Michailidis, brain surgeon
 * Orfeas Tzortzopoulos, drummer of Suicidal Angels
 * Argiris Pedoulakis, professional basketball player and coach
 * Demostene Russo
 * Konstantinos Argiros, singer

International relations
Peristeri is twinned with:
 * 🇷🇴 Iaşi, Romania
 * 🇧🇬 Rousse, Bulgaria