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History of Athens - Modern Athens

History of Athens - Modern Athens: Encyclopedia II - History of Athens - Modern Athens

Athens was chosen as the Greek capital for historical and sentimental reasons, not because it was a functioning city: there are few buildings in Athens dated between the Roman Empire and the 19th century. During the reign of King Othon (1832–1862) a modern city plan was laid out and public buildings erected. The finest legacy of this period are the buildings of the University of Athens, the Greek National Library and ...

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History of Athens, History of Athens - Origins and setting, History of Athens - Early history, History of Athens - Reform and democracy, History of Athens - Classical Athens, History of Athens - Byzantine Athens, History of Athens - Ottoman Athens, History of Athens - Modern Athens, History of Athens - Notable Athenians, History of Athens - Ancient sites in Athens

History of Athens, History of Athens - Ancient sites in Athens, History of Athens - Byzantine Athens, History of Athens - Classical Athens, History of Athens - Early history, History of Athens - Modern Athens, History of Athens - Notable Athenians, History of Athens - Origins and setting, History of Athens - Ottoman Athens, History of Athens - Reform and democracy, Hellenic civilization

History of Athens: Encyclopedia II - History of Athens - Modern Athens

History of Athens - Modern Athens

Athens was chosen as the Greek capital for historical and sentimental reasons, not because it was a functioning city: there are few buildings in Athens dated between the Roman Empire and the 19th century. During the reign of King Othon (1832–1862) a modern city plan was laid out and public buildings erected. The finest legacy of this period are the buildings of the University of Athens, the Greek National Library and the Greek National Academy on Panepistimiou Street.

Athens experienced its first period of explosive growth following the disastrous war with Turkey in 1921, when more than a million Greek refugees from Asia Minor were resettled in Greece. Suburbs such as Nea Ionia and Nea Smyrni began as refugee camps on the Athens outskirts. Athens was occupied by the Germans during World War II and experienced terrible privations during the later years of the war. In 1944 there was heavy fighting in the city between Communist forces and the royalists backed by the British. (see Greek Civil War)

After World War II the city began to grow again as people migrated from the villages and islands to find work. Greek entry into the European Union in 1981 brought a flood of new investment to the city, but also increasing social and environmental problems. Athens had some of the worst traffic congestion and air pollution in the world. This posed a new threat to the ancient monuments of Athens, as traffic vibration weakened foundations and air pollution corroded marble. The city's environmental and infrastructure problems were the main reason Athens failed to secure the 1996 centenary Olympic Games.

After this humiliation, both the city of Athens and the Greek government, aided by European Union funds, undertook major infrastructure projects such as the new Athens Airport and a new metro system. The city also tackled air pollution by restricting the use of cars in the centre of the city. As a result, Athens was awarded the 2004 Olympic Games. Despite the scepticism of many observers, the games were a great success and brought renewed international prestige (and tourism revenue) to Athens.

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Modern Athens", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki

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