Rafina
Rafina (Greek: Ραφήνα) is a town located on the eastern coast of
Attica in
Greece.
Rafina is east of the
Penteli mountains and northeast of the
Mesogeia plain with an exception of farmland near the coastline to the north. The
Cephissus River lies to the west. It is located E of
Athens and the
Attiki Odos (number 63), S of
Nea Makri, NNE of the
Eleftherios Venizelos Airport and N of
Loutsa. Rafina is about 30 km E of downtown Athens.
The Municipality of Rafina contains, besides the city itself, a large portion of the surrounding area, which is mostly woodland and farmland.
The town can be accessed through Marathonos Avenue (
GR-54) to the west. Other roads link with the town of Artemida, also known as Loutsa, to the south and Nea Makri to the North.
Rafina is a port town serving ferries to the southern part of
Euboea as well as most of the
Cyclades. Its port is the second largest of
Attica, after that of
Piraeus, but it will probably be superseded by the one in
Lavrio, which is currently being expanded.
Rafina was established in the 1920s by refugees fleeing from
Anatolia after the end of the
Greco-Turkish War (1919-1922). Its name is an
anagram of the name of an ancient Greek city which was located roughly in the same location as the modern town.Until the
1960s and the
1970s, most of the population was rural. As housing developments came to the area, the population boomed and moved into the settlements.
On
July 28,
2005, a forest fire began near the area of the hills southwest of Rafina at 11:00
EET (8:00 a.m.
GMT). The fires expanded quickly with windspeeds of 60 to 70 km/h, threatening forests around the hills and the small mountain range that runs from north of
Spata to near Rafina, consuming most of the forest and burning homes in two settlements including Kallitechnoupoli. The fires also threatened Neos Voutzas near Penteli. As a result of property damage, a large number of people were displaced. Traffic was redirected or halted as Marathonos Avenue was shut down from its junction near
Pikermi. Thick smoke covered the area until about 5 p.m. EET, when the wind calmed down and changed direction to the northeast near Rafina. A massive mobilization of fire departments across the region of
Attica followed, and eventually most of the region's available personnel were deployed to the area. Firefighting efforts were assisted by
water bombers and helicopters. The gradual decrease of windspeeds in the area slowed the spread of the fire. The fire was put under control in the afternoon and was fully extinguished by nightfall. The flames did not reach the city itself. On the same day another forest fire began in the area of Neos Voutzas at 13:00 EET (11:00 a.m. GMT).
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Agia Kyriaki Rafinas*
Agia Triada Rafinas*
Agios Gerogios RafinasRafina has schools, lyceums, gymnasia, banks, churches, a post office, beaches and squares (
plateies).Rafina is home to the
Greek prime minister Kostas Karamanlis and his family.
| Year | Population | Change | Municipal population |
|---|
| 1981 | 4,994 | - | - |
| 1991 | 7,752 | 2,758/55.23% | 8,611 |
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Mapquest - Rafina*Coordinates:
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CABO VERDE Hotel **** - New hotel 4km away from Rafina, Attica, Greece
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List of municipalities of Attica
