Voukourestiou Street
Voukourestiou Street is the most expensive street of Athens and Greece.
Modern and Contemporary era (1821 - )
1913 Named “Voukourestiou”.
1980 This was one of the first commercial pedestrian street experiments (early 1980s).
Ottoman era (1453- 1821)
Byzantine era (331 AC- 1453)
Roman era (30 BC- 330 AC)
Hellenistic era (322- 31 BC)
Classical era (478-323 BC)
Archaic era (800-479 BC)
Geometric era (-1100- 800 BC)
Prehistory (-1100 BC)
What I can see
Voukourestiou Street is the most expensive street in the city and possibly in the country. Some of its stores are Burberry, Dior, Prada, Valtadoros, Polo Ralph Lauren, Lalaounis, Lapel Leather, Longchamp, Hermes and Louis Vuitton.
What I can't see
Until 1913, the official name of the road was “Anhesmos”, from the name of the lower peak of Lycabettus Hill, as it was called in antiquity. It was also called “Hezopotamos” (Shitty River in Greek) because it was a stream of Lycabettus where there were polluting crafts and there was no sewer system in the area. The name “Voukourestiou” (Bucharest in Greek) was later given to restore the reputation of the area, where upper class residents lived and which had been stigmatized by the nickname “Hezopotamos”. The new name “Voukourestiou” was given in honour of the Romanians who allied with the Greeks in the Balkan Wars, as well as the Greek community in Romania. For a while, the section between Akadimias and Stadiou Streets was named “Yan Smats” by Queen Frideriki, in honour of the South African Minister and Prime Minister, who is known for his excessive repression and who laid the foundations of the extreme racist Apartheid regime that followed.
Bibliography
Field observation by scientific editors
Βασιλείου Χ., (χ.χ.), Βουκουρεστίου. Γιατί ο ακριβότερος δρόμος της Αθήνας λεγόταν «Χεζοπόταμος. Τι δείχνουν οι αλλεπάλληλες μετονομασίες μέσα στο χρόνο, [Voukourestiou. Why the most expensive street in Athens was called “Hezopotamos”. What do the constant name changes show in time], Michani tou Chronou, in
https://www.mixanitouxronou.gr/voukourestiou-o-akrivoteros-dromos-tis-athinas-legotan-agchesmou-ke-apo-eki-pernouse-o-chezopotamos-giati-ena-tmima-tis-metonomastike-se-odo-stratarchou-gian-smats-pou-itan-filos-tis-vasili/
Collective Work, (d.u.), Αθήνα, τεκμήρια φωτογραφικού αρχείου, [Athens, photo archive documents], Secretariat General of Information
