Strefi Hill (Λόφος Στρέφη) is a small, rocky, pine-covered hill in the centre of Athens, in the neighbourhood of Exarcheia. It is one of the last open, unfenced green spaces in the city centre: a place for walks, basketball, concerts on the little open-air stage, and for the birds and endemic plants that live on its rocks.
What happened
In 2021 the Athens city council handed the “study and regeneration” of the hill to Prodea Investments, a real-estate company with property in the area. The plan meant concrete on the paths, railings on the ridges, a fence around the whole hill with guarded entrances and cameras, and geotechnical works on the rocks that geologists and foresters later described as unnecessary and dangerous for the ecosystem. The stated goal was to “increase land and property values”. Residents read it as one more step in the touristification of Exarcheia, alongside the new metro station on the square and the wave of Airbnb evictions.
An open assembly of residents formed in the winter of 2020–2021 to defend the hill. Since then it has organised marches and rallies, blocked work crews, taken the municipality to court (obtaining a suspension of works in 2022), commissioned independent scientific opinions, and — above all — kept the hill alive: collective watering, cleaning and planting days, an open-air summer cinema, festivals, basketball and concerts. Since August 2022 the hill has been under a permanent police presence, which the assembly documents and contests.
The assembly
The Open Assembly for the Defence of Strefi Hill meets every Saturday at 18:00 on the hill, at the small open-air theatre. It is open to everyone, has no party affiliation and no representatives. Contact: lofosstrefi@riseup.net.
This site is in Greek. It holds every text the assembly has published since 2021: calls to action, reports, counter-information on the municipality and the investors, and the posters. The timeline lists all posts by year; the poster gallery needs no translation.
Strefi Hill will stay open, free, public and wild.