Editing Piraeus (section)

===Modern era===
[[File:Piraeus-Saint Spyridon 1887.jpg|thumb|The city of Piraeus and the church of Saint Spyridon; postcard of 1887.]]
With the creation of the [[Kingdom of Greece (Wittelsbach)|modern Greek state]] and the proclamation of [[Athens]] as its capital in 1832, the port, still named Πόρτο Λεόνε "Porto Leone" or Πόρτο Δράκο "Porto Draco",<ref>Γολδσμιθ, ''Ιστορία της Ελλάδος'', Athens, 1838 (translation of 1809 edition?), [https://books.google.com/books?id=JZA_AAAAYAAJ&pg=PA222 p. 222]</ref> again acquired a reason for growth, and began to develop into a commercial and industrial centre. Migrants, mainly from the [[Aegean Islands]], continued to arrive. A town plan was also drawn up and approved by [[Otto of Greece|King Otto]], but not completely fulfilled, as it was revolutionary for its time.<ref name=Hadjimanolakis/>

The municipality was established in 1835, reviving the ancient name "Piraeus".<ref>Philip Sanford Marden, ''Greece and the Aegean Islands'', 1907, [https://books.google.com/books?id=70cMAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA43 p. 43]</ref> Following petitions from the new and emerging prosperous [[bourgeoisie]], municipal elections were held to elect a mayor for the city, Kyriakos Serfiotis of Hydra. Piraeus had around 300 inhabitants at this time.

Piraeus, from a deserted small town, quickly became the leading port and the second largest city in Greece, with its prime geographical location and closeness to the Greek capital helping it continually to grow, attracting people from across the country. A number of events contributed to the development of the city; among these were its ultimate declaration as the leading port of Greece, the completion of the [[Athens metro#Piraeus-Kifissia Railway|Athens-Piraeus Railway]] in 1869, the industrial development of the area in the 1860s, and the creation of the [[Corinth Canal]] in 1893, all of which left Piraeus more strategically important than ever. New buildings were constructed to cover the necessities of this growth, such as educational institutions, churches, the Stock Exchange Building, the Town Hall, the Central Market, the Post Office Building and charity institutions; the port was also supplemented and modernised, with dredging operations, the construction of the Royal Landing, the Troumba Pier and the quay-ways up to the Customs House area, the commencement of construction work on the Outer Moles and the completion of permanent dry-docks. At the end of the 19th century, Piraeus had a population of 51,020 people.

The establishment of the Port Committee in 1911, which controlled the works of construction and maintenance of the port, and the Piraeus Port Authority in 1930, which made a more efficient job of managing a port slowly increasing in traffic, played a catalytic role in the city's development. The town flourished and neo-classical buildings were erected; one of them, which continues to ornament the present town, is the [[Piraeus Municipal Theatre]], an excellent example of the area's once wider neoclassical architecture. After the decisive period for Greece of 1912–1922, Piraeus experienced a major demographic explosion, with its population almost doubling to reach 251,659 in 1928 from 133,482 in 1920, an increase owed to the arrival of [[Greek refugees]] from [[Anatolia|Asia Minor]] after the [[Greco-Turkish War (1919–1922)|1919–1922 Greco-Turkish War]] and the [[Greek genocide]] in Anatolia and finally the subsequent [[population exchange between Greece and Turkey]]. Although there was an increase in the labour force, a variety of social problems also emerged with the concentration of new populations in the suburbs of the city, such as [[Nikaia, Attica|Nikaia]], [[Keratsini]], [[Perama]], [[Drapetsona]] and [[Korydallos]].

The involvement of Greece in [[World War II]] came as a major setback to the city's progress. After the war, the city began its development once more, as damage to the port and the city were repaired and new additions took shape after 1955. Piraeus is now the fifth largest municipality in Greece; the city proper with its suburbs form the Piraeus [[urban area]], which is incorporated in the Athens urban area, thus making Piraeus an integral part of the Greek capital. The [[port of Piraeus]] is now an important international port, and the largest in the country.