Tanagra

For other uses, see Tanagra (disambiguation).
Tanagra
Τανάγρα
Tanagra

Coordinates: 38°19′N 23°32′E / 38.317°N 23.533°E / 38.317; 23.533Coordinates: 38°19′N 23°32′E / 38.317°N 23.533°E / 38.317; 23.533
Country Greece
Administrative region Central Greece
Regional unit Boeotia
Area
 • Municipality 461.02 km2 (178.00 sq mi)
 • Municipal unit 122.53 km2 (47.31 sq mi)
Elevation 214 m (702 ft)
Population (2011)[1]
 • Municipality 19,432
 • Municipality density 42/km2 (110/sq mi)
 • Municipal unit 3,827
 • Municipal unit density 31/km2 (81/sq mi)
Community[1]
 • Population 1,117 (2011)
 • Area (km2) 27.814
Time zone EET (UTC+2)
 • Summer (DST) EEST (UTC+3)
Postal code 322 00, 320 09
Area code(s) 22620
Vehicle registration ΒΙ

Tanagra (Greek: Τανάγρα) is a town and a municipality north of Athens in Boeotia, Greece. The seat of the municipality is the town Schimatari.[2] It is not far from Thebes, and it was noted in antiquity for the figurines named after it. The Tanagra figurines were a mass-produced, mold-cast and fired type of Greek terracotta figurines produced from the later fourth century BCE, primarily in Tanagra.

Government

The municipality Tanagra was formed at the 2011 local government reform by the merger of the following 4 former municipalities, that became municipal units:[2]

History

Ancient

Pausanias mentions in Tanagra's location the ancient city of Graea, eponymous of the Graikoi, a Boeotian tribe whose name gave rise to the Latin Graecus "Greek". Homer, while reciting the Boeotian forces in the Iliad 's Catalogue of Ships, provides the first known reference to the Boeotian city of Graea.[3]

silver obol struck in Tanagra 387–374 BC. A Beoetian shield on the obverse and forepart of a horse on the reverse

Tanagra's alternative name was Poimandria, after its founder Poimandros, who took part in the Trojan campaign. It was the site of two Battles of Tanagra, in 457 BC and 426 BC. The Boeotian League under Tanagra led forth "the Boeotians" against the Athenian invaders at Oenophyta, 62 days after the battle of Tanagra (See Battle of Oenophyta)

Modern

In the early 2000s, a military plane which was on a training flight crashed on the runway during bad weather. There were no survivors.

On Sunday 18 September 2005, the Archangelos air show, the largest ever organized in Greece, took place in Tanagra. It attracted a crowd of more than 200,000.

Geography

The municipality has an area of 461.023 km2, the municipal unit 122.527 km2, the community 27.814 km2.[4] Tanagra is located SE of Thiva and Arma, SW of Schimatari and NW of Agios Thomas. Farmlands surround the rest of Tanagra, and the Asopus River along with the Parnitha mountains to the south.

Demographics

Year Settlement Municipal unit Municipality
1981 1,097 – –
1991 847 – –
2001 871 4,134 –
2011 1,117 3,827 19,432

Economy

Since 1956, the 114th Combat Wing of the Hellenic Air Force has been based at Tanagra Air Force Base. The base is one of Greece's largest military bases. Its runway is about 3 km in length.

Transport

Tanagra can be accessed by GR-1 in the north and by a provincial road linking Thiva (Thebes) in the west.

Tanagra is served by two interchanges, a partial southbound exit, a northbound entrance to the northwest and an almost-full to the east, serving access to highways 44 and 77 to the island of Euboea. Its service road lies to the south and is linked with the southeast bypass and to the military base.

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "Απογραφή Πληθυσμού - Κατοικιών 2011. ΜΟΝΙΜΟΣ Πληθυσμός" (in Greek). Hellenic Statistical Authority.
  2. 1 2 Kallikratis law Greece Ministry of Interior (Greek)
  3. ↑ Homer, "Iliad", II, 498
  4. ↑ "Population & housing census 2001 (incl. area and average elevation)" (PDF) (in Greek). National Statistical Service of Greece.

Media related to Tanagra at Wikimedia Commons

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