Prosfygika of Alexandras avenue
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| Prosfygika of Alexandras avenue | |
|---|---|
Προσφυγικά Λεωφόρου Αλεξάνδρας | |
 The Prosfygika as seen from the Alexandras avenue | |
 Interactive map of the Prosfygika of Alexandras avenue area | |
| General information | |
| Location | Ampelokipoi, Athens |
| Coordinates | 37°59′19″N 23°45′16″E / 37.98861°N 23.75444°E |
| Year built | 1933-1935 |
The Prosfygika of Alexandras avenue (Greek: Προσφυγικά Λεωφόρου Αλεξάνδρας), or simply Prosfygika, are a neighborhood and set of housing blocks located in Athens, in the area of Ampelokipoi along Alexandras Avenue. They were originally built to house Greek refugees from the Greco-Turkish War of 1919-1922, taking their name from their original purpose (πρόσφυγας, prosfygas, is the Greek word for refugee). Today they have been assigned the status of a preserved building by the Greek government. Besides regular tenants, a large part of the buildings currently houses squats and social solidarity initiatives.
Prosfygika are located on the north side of Alexandras avenue at the height of 165-169 and consists of 8 rectangle-shaped apartment buildings with their long side parallel to the avenue, with a total of 228 apartments, several of which are inhabited.
History
Refugee crisis and construction of blocks
The purpose of the housing blocks of Prosfygika was to accommodate some of the large number of refugees from Asia Minor after Greece's defeat in the Greco-Turkish War of 1919–1922. The original plan was for them to be built on the southern side of the Alexandras avenue. However, due to a conflict with Panathinaikos fans, who had been trying to use this space for the construction of the club's field, the location of the refugees' residencies to be created, was transferred to the northern side of the avenue.[1]
Initially, the refugees set up a shanty town in the northern side of Alexandras avenue, that was replaced by the current housing blocks when the residencies were finally built, during the years 1933–1935.[1] The architect Kimon Laskaris and the civil engineer Dimitris Kyriakou were in charge of the construction.[2]
The neighborhood during the Dekemvriana battle
During the Dekemvriana conflict in 1944, after the liberation of Greece from the Axis forces, the neighborhood was the site of clashes between EAM-ELAS and the British and Greek government forces. ELAS fighters were welcomed and found shelter in the neighborhood, which thus became a target and was bombarded with mortars by the British forces stationed in the nearby Lykavittos hill.[3] Bullet holes on the walls of the houses from these clashes still remain visible.[1] A small memorial column has been set up by the Communist Party of Greece in the spot to honor the EAM-ELAS fighters that were killed during the Dekemvriana battle.[4]
Population evictions
During the military dictatorship of 1967-1974, a ministerial decision was made to evict the neighborhood in order to built a courthouse. The decision however was not put to practice.[1]
At the late 1990s the Greek government announced a plan to demolish the buildings and create a park. Owners had to sell their houses to the Greek state or face a compulsory expropriation at the official assessed value. The residents' mobilization and ensuing legal proceedings resulted in the two buildings facing Alexandras avenue being characterized as buildings to be preserved due to their historical, cultural, socio-political and architectural value. By 2004, 137 owners had sold their apartments and another 40 homes were expropriated by the state. The remaining 51 apartments continued resisting against the compulsory expropriation and in 2009, the Central Archaeological Council declared the six remaining housing blocks of Prosfygika as buildings to be preserved.[5]
Occupied Prosfygika
In 2011, the need for political action in the Prosfygika community and their abandonment by the government led to the emergence of the Open Assembly of Struggle of the Prosfygika Community and of People in Solidarity and the Assembly of Occupied Prosfygika, who occupied the empty buildings creating structures of collective bakeries, collective kitchens, a children's shelter, a structure for self-education as well as health structures.[6]