plaka

File:Athens Plaka07.jpg

File:Athenian Rooftops.jpg

The toponym Plaka is first attested in the second half of the 17th century. Up until the era of Otto, it pertained only to the area around the Choragic Monument of Lysicrates (locals knew it as "Kandili 'lantern' of Demosthenes"{{sfn|Karani|2007|p=148}} at least since 1460, or just as kandili); it was only after 1834 that the toponym's application gradually expanded to eventually include the entire area between today's Makrygianni Street and the Ancient Agora.{{sfn|Μιχελή|1994|pp=45, 47}} Prior of that, the local Athenians referred to the area by various other names, such as Alikokkou, Kontito, Kandili, or by the names of the local churches.Kostas Mpiri, Place names of Athens, 1946: "Local Athenians, as we can see from the written evidence, didn't call the area as Plaka. All the source of Athenian historiography, which mention neighborhoods of the city, refer to this area with the names of Alikokou, Kontito, Kandili and with the Churches it included (Kωστα Μπιρη, Τοπωνυμικα των Αθηνων, 1946: "Οι γηγενείς Αθηναίοι δεν εσυνηθιζαν, όπως φαίνεται από τα γραπτά μνημεία, να την ονομάζουν έτσι. Οσες πηγές της Αθηναιογραφιας, εως την εποχή του Όθωνος, αναφέρουν συνοικίες της πόλεως, ονομάζουν αυτήν την περιοχήν με τα ονόματα Αλικόκου, Κοντιτό, Κανδήλι, και με τις ενορίες που περιλάμβανε.") In particular, Alikokkou was the name of the broader area of what is now Plaka, until the early 20th century, and was one of the divisions into which Athens was divided during the Ottoman era;{{sfn|Smith|2004|p=137}} the toponym Alikokkou derived from the surname of a family who was likely of Frankish origin, but had been Hellenized.{{sfn|Μιχελή|1994|pp=19, 110}}

Some have suggested that the toponym Plaka derives from the Arvanitika Pliak Athena, meaning 'Old Athens'; from Albanian plak 'old'.{{sfn|Karidis|2014|p=61}}{{cite book|last=Elsie|first=Robert | chapter= The Hybrid Soil of the Balkans: A Topography of Albanian Literature| editor-last1=Cornis-Pope | editor-first1=M. | editor-last2=Neubauer | editor-first2=J. | title=History of the Literary Cultures of East-Central Europe: Junctures and Disjunctures in the 19th and 20th Centuries | publisher=John Benjamins Publishing | series=Comparative history of literatures in European languages| year=2006 | page=290|volume=2|author-link=Robert Elsie|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5pAwqsSyTlsC&pg=PA290}} Others have suggested that it derives from the presence of a plaque (Greek: πλάκα; romanized: plaka) which once marked its central intersection.{{sfn|Smith|2004|p=137}} The latter view is also supported by linguist Charalampos Symeonides (2010), who stated that Plaka is a common Medieval and Modern Greek toponym that can be found throughout Greece, and is attested as early as 1089; in the case of Athens, it denoted a place with ancient plaques or marbles.{{sfn|Symeonides|2010|p=1152}}

Plaka is on the northeast slope of Acropolis, between Syntagma and Monastiraki square. Adrianou Street (running north and south) is the largest and most central street in Plaka and divides it into two areas: the upper level, - Ano Plaka - located right under the Acropolis and the lower level - Kato Plaka - situated between Syntagma and Monastiraki.

The extent of the area called Plaka has evolved over time.{{sfn|Karani|2007|p=148}}{{sfn|Zivas|1988|pp=329–336}} Plaka was developed mostly around the ruins of Ancient Agora of Athens.Ancient marbles to American shores: Classical archaeology in the United states. by Stephen L Dyson Chapter 5 The American school of Classical studies at Athens page 181 : “The Plaka, the picturesque Turkish quarter of Athens, had developed over the ruins of ancient Agorra” It is the oldest district of Athens and has been continuously inhabited from the Neolithic to the present day.{{sfn|Zivas|1988|pp=329–336}} As a result, Plaka contains monuments from all periods of the city's history. Some of the streets, such as Adrianou and Tripodon, can be traced back to the ancient era.{{sfn|Zivas|1988|pp=329–336}} The population of Athens grew during the early 16th century, and the town experienced another urban development after the one which occurred in 1456, this time towards the north-east, again mainly by the settlement of Albanians who had moved in the region several years before the Ottoman arrival. After the Ottoman conquest, these settlements occurred in Attica in one wave after the Venetian loss of its Morean strongholds in 1540, and in another wave after a revolt in the Morea in 1570, when the Ottoman administration decreed the mandatory settlement of Albanians in Attica, in order to offer them improving living conditions. The such created parts of the north-eastern district of Athens later became known as Plaka.{{sfn|Karidis|2014|p=61}} During that period, Plaka was also the home of the Greek aristocratic Benizelos family, the family that Saint Philothei came from.{{harvnb|Miller|1922|pp=5–115}}{{harvnb|Vryonis|2002|pp=5–115}} In the mid-17th century, out of the eight main administrative units ({{Transliteration|el|platomata}}) in Athens, it appears Plaka was the least densely inhabited.{{sfn|Karidis|2014|p=66|loc=Fig. II.3}}

During the Greek War of Independence, Plaka like the rest of Athens, was temporarily abandoned by its inhabitants because of the severe battles that took place in 1826. The area was repopulated during the first years of the reign of Otto of Greece. Plaka became inhabited by a mixed population, that included old Athenian families, as well as an influx of newcomers, such as artisans, professionals, military personnel, and others.{{sfn|Zivas|1988|p=330}} It had a sizable Albanian community until the late 19th century, and as a result, it was the Albanian quarter of Athens.{{cite book |title=Collected Works of Richard Claverhouse Jebb |last=Jebb |first=Sir Richard Claverhouse |author2=Todd, Robert B. |year=2002 |publisher=Continuum International |isbn=1-85506-933-4 |page=65|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Y89p4ZsGgw0C&q=Plaka+Albanian&pg=PA65 |access-date=2010-06-03 }}{{cite book|chapter=The Kosovo Albanians: Ethnic Confrontation with the Slav State|author1 = Hugh Poulton|author2 = Miranda Vickers |title=Muslim identity and the Balkan State |editor-last=Poulton |editor-first=Hugh |editor-last2=Taji-Farouki|editor-first2=Suha |year= 1997|publisher=C Hurst & Co Publishers Ltd |isbn=1-85065-276-7 |page=142 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lQqHjwW6XzcC&q=Plaka+Albanian&pg=PA142 |access-date=2010-06-03 }}{{cite journal |last=Davies |first=J. |date=July–December 1880 |title=Contemporary Books (Classical Literature), review of Richard Claverhouse Jebb publications |journal=The Contemporary Review |volume=38 |pages=853 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AosFAAAAQAAJ&q=Plaka+ |access-date=2010-06-03 }} They had their own courts where they used the Albanian language. Their descendants nowadays have been assimilated into the Greek nation in considerable numbers. This happened through Greek control over the education system.{{cite book | last=Ortakovski | first=Vladimir | title=Minorities in the Balkans | publisher=Brill | year=2021 | page=328}} During the period of Otto's reign, the neighborhood of Anafiotika, featuring traditional Cycladic architecture, was built by settlers from the Aegean island of Anafi.Costas Spirou, The Evolution of the Tourism Precinct in City spaces - tourist places: urban tourism precincts ed. by Bruce Hayllar, Tony Griffin, Deborah Edwards page 32: "At its highest point, just under the Acropolis, Plaka contains a 19th century recreated island village settlement. The steep, charming, whitewashed structured of the Anafiotika (migrants from the island of Anafi built the small enclave). and intimate tavernas reflect the architecture of the Aegean."{{sfn|Bastéa|2014|p=134}}

Plaka assumed its present form during the 19th and early decades of the 20th century. Following Greek independence, the area grew rapidly. In 1884, a fire burned down a large part of the neighborhood which gave the opportunity for the archaeologists to conduct excavations in the Roman Market and Hadrian's library. Excavations have been taking place continuously since the 19th century. Growth continued until World War II. From the 1950s until the 1970s, Plaka experienced some degradation, as a result of the post-war construction boom, the increase in motor cars, and the tourist boom.{{sfn|Zivas|1988|pp=329–336}} In the 1980s, a comprehensive preservation plan was implemented, and the area improved rapidly. Nowadays Plaka is a major tourist destination.

Plaka is visited by hundreds of thousands of tourists around the year,{{cite web|title=Plaka Photo Guide|url=http://www.athenswalk.net/_/Athens_Walk_2nd_route.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130725014306/http://www.athenswalk.net/_/Athens_Walk_2nd_route.html|url-status=usurped|archive-date=July 25, 2013}} and is under strict zoning and conservation regulations, as the only neighborhood in Athens where all utilities (water, power, cable television, telephone, internet, and sewage) lie underground in fully accessible, custom-made tunneling.

Museums in Plaka include:

• Acropolis Museum
• Athens University Museum
• Frissiras Museum
• Jewish Museum of Greece{{Cite web|url=https://athensglance.com/plaka/|title = Plaka|website=athensglance.com| date=12 June 2016 }}
• Museum of Greek Folk Art, an annex of which is the Old Public Baths building
• Museum of Greek Folk Musical Instruments
• Museum of Pavlos and Alexandra Kanellopoulou

Many movies of the Greek cinema were filmed in the area. Some of them include:

• And the Wife Shall Revere Her Husband
• The Drunkard (film)
• What If..., Christoforos Papakaliatis movie
• Woe to the Young

File:Choragic Monument of Lysicrates 00.JPG|Choragic Monument of Lysicrates

File:Entaulament i dues columnes, barri de Plaka, Atenes.JPG|Ancient Roman columns

Image:Karolos Koun Theatre, Plaka.jpg|"Karolos Koun" theatre

File:Μουσείο Ιστορίας Πανεπιστημίου Αθηνών.jpg|Athens University Museum

File:20100410 athina092.JPG|Polygnotou street

File:Plaka district-Athens 12.JPG|Neoclassical houses

File:Plaka district-Athens 55.JPG|Detail of a building

File:Άγιος Νικόλαος Ραγκαβά 9767-9.jpg|Agios Nikolaos Ragava Byzantine church

File:Αρχοντικό Μπενιζέλου 6545.jpg|The Benizelos mansion

Image:Typical shop in Plaka.jpg|Typical souvenir shop

{{Reflist}}

• {{Cite book |last=Bastéa |first=Eleni |editor-last=Behrends |editor-first=Jan C. |editor-last2=Kohlrausch |editor-first2=Martin |chapter=Athens, 1890–1940: Transitory Modernism and National Realities |title=Races to Modernity: Metropolitan Aspirations in Eastern Europe, 1890–1940 |date=2014 |publisher=CEU Press |url=https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/9789633860366-009/html |isbn=978-963-386-036-6 |pages=127–152 |language=en}}
• {{Cite journal |last=Karani |first=Ioanna |date=2007 |title=Οικοδομικές επεμβάσεις στον ναό της Αγίας Αικατερίνης στην Πλάκα κατά τον 19ο και τις αρχές του 20ου αιώνα |url=https://ejournals.epublishing.ekt.gr/index.php/deltion/article/view/4328 |journal=Deltion of the Christian Archaeological Society |language=el |volume=28 |pages=147–156 |issn=1105-5758}}
• {{Cite book |last=Karidis |first=Dimitris N. |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/976023576 |title=Athens from 1456 to 1920 : the town under Ottoman rule and the 19th-century capital city |date=2014 |others=Archaeopress |isbn=978-1-78491-072-3 |location=Oxford |oclc=976023576}}
• {{Cite book |last=Μιχελή |first=Λίζα |title=Πλάκα: Ιστορική μνήμη και μυθοπλασία |publication-date=1994 |orig-date=1985 |publisher=Γαλάτεια |isbn=9789602350966 |language=el}}
• {{Cite book |last=Smith |first=Michael Llewellyn |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1_rAohrmHwsC |title=Athens: A Cultural and Literary History |date=2004 |publisher=Signal Books |isbn=978-1-902669-81-6 |language=en |author-link=Michael Llewellyn-Smith}}
• {{Cite book |last=Symeonides |first=Charalampos P. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NeORpwAACAAJ |title=Ετυμολογικό Λεξικό των Νεοελληνικών Οικωνυμίων |date=2010 |publisher=Kykkos Monastery Research Centre |isbn=978-960-92762-2-1 |volume=2 |language=el}}
• {{cite journal | last=Miller | first=William | title=Ἀθηναϊκον Ἀρχοντολόγιον. Α′. Οἱ ἄρχοντες Μπενιζέλοι. By D. G. Kampouroglos. Athens: Sidéres, 1921. | journal=The Journal of Hellenic Studies | publisher=Cambridge University Press (CUP) | volume=42 | issue=1 | year=1922 | issn=0075-4269 | doi=10.2307/625955 | pages=127–128| jstor=625955 | s2cid=163294353 | url=https://zenodo.org/record/2321002 }}
• {{cite journal | last=Miller | first=William | title=The 'Gennadeion': Dr. Gennadius' Monument at Athens | journal=The Journal of Hellenic Studies | publisher=Cambridge University Press (CUP) | volume=52 | issue=2 | year=1932 | issn=0075-4269 | doi=10.2307/625995 | pages=297–302| jstor=625995 | s2cid=157037357 }}
• {{cite journal |title=The Ghost of Athens in Byzantine and Ottoman Times |journal=Balkan Studies |year=2002 |last=Vryonis |first=Speros |volume=43 |issue=1 |pages=5–115}}
• {{Cite journal |last=Zivas |first=Dionysis A. |date=1988 |title=Protection and revival of Plaka, Athens: A program at work |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/43620654 |journal=Ekistics |volume=55 |issue=333 |pages=329–336 |issn=0013-2942}}

• {{Cite book |last=Kaftantzoglou |first=Roxane |title=Στη σκιά του Ιερού Βράχου |trans-title=In the Shadow of the Holy Rock |date=2010 |publisher=National Centre for Social Research (EKKE) |isbn=978-960-393-733-3 |edition=3rd |language=el}}

{{Commons category-inline}}

{{Athens}}

{{Landmarks in Athens}}

{{Authority control}}

Category:Tourist attractions in Athens

Category:Neighbourhoods in Athens

Category:Arvanite settlements