Product Code Database
Kamatero ( ; officially ΚαματερόνNational Statistic Service of Greece surveys. Last accessed December 4, 2009. (in Greek) ) is a town and a suburb in the central-western part of the Athens agglomeration, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Agioi Anargyroi-Kamatero, of which it is a municipal unit. It is located about 8 kilometres north of Athens city centre.
Possibly the oldest archaeological find in Kamatero is an ancient wall on the ridge of Mt. Aigaleos above the modern settlement. As described by McCredie, the wall is 0,60 to 0,90 m. thick, and "seldom preserved to the height of half a metre". McCredie considers it to be a military fieldwork, and, given that it runs to the southeast of the ridge's crest, deems it to be meant as a defence towards that direction, i.e. the direction of Athens. Thus, and also due to "its extremely light construction", he concludes that it was built as a temporary defence for a force invading Athens. He notes that "it might represent the last easily defencible point before entering the plain of Athens itself". McCredie speculates that the wall was built to block the relatively easy route through Mt. Aigaleos (and on towards Eleusis and Boeotia) that passes at that point. As far as the dating of the wall is concerned, McCredie concedes that it is impossible to be independently dated. However, he believes it was built on the occasion of the same invasion as two other walls in Attica: one in the Thriasian plain, and another, more famous one (known as the Dema Wall) bridging the gap between Mt. Aigaleos and Parnitha. The Dema can be independently dated to the second half of the 4th century BC, or possibly the first half of the 3rd.McCredie, James R. Fortified Military Camps in Attica (Hesperia: Supplement XI), ASCSA, 1966 (, ) p. 63-66 Thus, McCredie considers it likely that the Kamatero wall also dates to the 4th or 3rd century BC.
There is little that can be said about Kamatero, as separate from the rest of Attica, during the medieval and Ottoman Empire era. One thing of note is that, starting from some point in time that is difficult to establish with certainty, and lasting up until the modern era, the Greek language was supplanted by Arvanitic as the primary means of communication in Kamatero (as well as the surrounding areas). This is supported by census data from the 19th and 20th centuries. It has been noted that Arvanitic remained the language of everyday communication in Kamatero at least until the interbellum years.Tsingos, Athanasios S. Κείμενα για τους Αρβανίτες (Texts about the Arvanites, Athens, 1991 (in Greek). p. 57
After Greek independence, and during the reign of King Otto, Kamatero is first mentioned in a royal decree of 1836, proclaiming it a part of the municipality of Chastia.Choulariakis, Michael Γεωγραφική διοικητική και πληθυσμιακή εξέλιξις της Ελλάδος 1821–1971, τόμος Α', μέρος Ι (Geographic administrative and demographic evolution of Greece 1821–1971, vol. 1, part 1, Εθνικόν Κέντρον Κοινωνικών Ερευνών (National Center for Social Studies), Athens, 1973 (in Greek). pp. 111, 127, 148 In 1840, by a new royal decree, it was made part of the municipality of Fyli. In 1845, it was transferred again, this time to the municipality of Acharnai. In 1853, Kamatero is described by RagavisRagavis, Iakovos R. Τα Ελληνικά, ήτοι περιγραφή γεωγραφική, ιστορική, αρχαιολογική και στατιστική της αρχαίας και νέας Ελλάδος, τόμος Α (The Hellenics, that is a geographical, historical, archaeological and statistical description of ancient and modern Greece, vol. 1), Athens, 1853 (in Greek). p. 297 as a settlement of 29 households and 123 people, producing grain and wine.
Kamatero exhibited a steady growth of population during this period. It is mentioned as being inhabited by 103 people in 1846.Stamatakis, I. D. Πίναξ χωρογραφικός της Ελλάδος, περιέχων τα ονόματα, τας αποστάσεις και τον πληθυσμόν των Δήμων, Πόλεων Κωμοπόλεων και Χωρίων. (Chorographic table of Greece, containing the names, distances and populations of Municipalities, Cities Towns and Villages, Athens, 1846 (in Greek). p. 1 As already noted, it is described in 1853 as having a population of 123. By the first available census, in 1879, the population had risen to 199.Choulariakis, Michael Γεωγραφική διοικητική και πληθυσμιακή εξέλιξις της Ελλάδος 1821–1971, τόμος Α', μέρος II (Geographic administrative and demographic evolution of Greece 1821–1971, vol. 1, part 2, Εθνικόν Κέντρον Κοινωνικών Ερευνών (National Center for Social Studies), Athens, 1974 (in Greek). This trend continued throughout the rest of the century: the population rose to 246 by 1889 and 264 by 1896.
As has been noted, the main language spoken in Kamatero up until World War II was Arvanitic. This is further reinforced by the 1879 census, according to which, in the municipality of Acharnai, to which Kamatero still belonged at the time, out of a total of 3,415 people, 2,711 did not speak Greek.
There is a World War II era description of Kamatero in the book 21 Battalion, by author J. Cody. The 21st Battalion was a New Zealand infantry battalion temporarily stationed in Kamatero in spring 1941. The description given by the author is of a "pleasant tree-studded area". It is repeatedly termed a "village", and, upon arrival, soldiers of the 21st chanced upon the villagers harvesting wheat. The battalion's encampment is characterised as "rolling country dotted with olive trees".Cody, Joseph F. 21 Battalion, Historical Publications Branch, Wellington, 1953, p. 36 The above description makes it clear that Kamatero at that time was still a small agricultural settlement.
Major population influx only started in the 1950s, resulting in wide-scale urbanisation. By now, urban development has replaced most of the farmlands and forests, and about two-thirds of the settlement are residential areas. According to the Association for the Development of West Athens, in 1981 only an estimated 2.8% of the economically active population was employed in the primary sector of industry.Website of the Association for the Development of West Athens, page on Kamatero. Last accessed July 15, 2007. (in Greek) More recent figures are unavailable, but probably lower.
More recently, Athens was struck by a major earthquake on September 7, 1999. Kamatero was very close to the epicentre, and several houses were heavily damaged. There were no casualties, but the homeless were in the hundreds range.
After that point, urban development replaced much of the farmlands. Today, about two-thirds of the land are residential areas. Empty space today can be found mostly in the western part, on Poikilo mountain. This is a rocky mountain, consisting mostly of limestone, dotted with the occasional pine. There are also some last patches of forest to be found there, especially at the feet of the mountain.
The Antonis Tritsis Metropolitan Park lies to the southeast of the municipality. The park is considered to be "one of the last wildlife reserves in the Athens urban environment", and it covers "more than 100,000 m2".Website of Vodafone Greece, page on an environmental programme the company supports. Last accessed July 15, 2007. (in English) It consists of water courses, evergreen and coniferous trees, reed beds and farmland, and attracts "many species of birds and animal throughout the year." Specifically, "members of the Hellenic Ornithological Society have been monitoring birds at the Park and have recorded 147 different species". While the Park technically lies outside the municipality's boundaries, its influence on its microclimate is evident. Furthermore, as it is directly on the municipality's boundaries, Kamatero municipality takes an active part in its administration, along with the neighbouring municipalities of Ilion and Agioi Anargyroi.
Kamatero itself is not further subdivided into smaller administrative sectors. While there are some traditional neighbourhoods in Kamatero, they have no administrative function. Besides, the delineation between the various neighbourhoods has become somewhat blurred, as what were essentially separate settlements up to a few decades ago have now been merged into a single building complex, itself part of the larger Athens.
Furthermore, leftist parties generally pole better in Kamatero than their national average. This is especially true of the Communist Party, which in the latest legislative elections (2004) polled 11.14% of the vote in Kamatero, as opposed to its national average of 5.90%. PASOK polled 41.94% in Kamatero, as opposed to its national average of 40.55%, while Synaspismos and DIKKI also polled better than their national average (3.69% and 2.94% respectively, as opposed to their national averages of 3.26% and 1.79% respectively). By contrast, the centre-right New Democracy party, that won the national election, came in a distant second in Kamatero, polling 35.24% as opposed to its national average of 45.26%. However, it is noteworthy that the far-right Popular Orthodox Rally (LAOS) party also polled better in Kamatero, gaining 3.68% of the vote as opposed to its national average of 2.19%.Website of the Greek Ministry of the Interior, Public Administration and Decentralization, page on national election results. Includes detailed results per voting department. Last accessed July 14, 2007. (in English)[1]
The influx of population from the 1950s onwards mostly consisted of low-income individuals. Furthermore, Kamatero has a distinct working-class character, as in 1981 56.7% of the economically active population was employed in the secondary sector of industry, while 36.3% was employed in the tertiary sector. The primary sector accounted only for 2.8% of the population. Kamatero is considered to have potentials for further development, as it has one of the largest reserves of building space in Attica. Furthermore, it has been called one of the fastest growing municipalities in Attica.
| 103 |
| 123 |
| 199 |
| 246 |
| 264 |
| 285 |
| 11,382 |
| 15,593 |
| 18,759 |
| 22,234 |
| 28,361 |
| 29,179 |
|
|
