Kallithea - 1896 and 2004 Athens Olympics

1896 and 2004 Athens Olympics

The plans for the establishment of the new city of Kallithea were officially approved in December 1884. On the longitudinal axis of the town (Thisseos Avenue), the Athens to Phaleron tramway once ran, from the beginning (1850) to (1955) and the end of its operations. Near the center of the town the Shooting Range (Skopeftirion) was built to house events of the first modern Olympic Games, the 1896 Summer Olympics, and these first modern games took place in three venues: the refurbished ancient stadium of Athens (Panathinaiko Stadium) 2 km NE of Kallithea, the Neo Phaliron Velodrome (currently Karaiskaki Stadium) 2 km SW of Kallithea, and the Kallithea Shooting Range (Skopeftirion).

Events of the Athens 2004 Olympic Games were also sited in the district of Kallithea, notably handball and Taekwondo in the new Sports Pavilion (Faliro) by the bottom of Syngrou Avenue, and beach volleyball in the Olympic Beach Volleyball Center on Kallithea Bay(Tzitzifies).