Greece’s first-ever crematorium is apparently on course for construction, with a site in a gritty inner city district of southwest Athens picked as the location.
Past opposition by the dominant Orthodox Church and a lack of interest by lawmakers and successive governments over the years to allow the operation of crematoria rendered Greece as one of the few western countries where the practise of cremating bodies was not available.
Over the past two decades, the families of the deceased that wished to be cremated had to transport the bodies of their loved ones to neighboring Bulgaria for cremation.
According to Athens Mayor Giorgos Kaminis on Thursday, the municipality will build and co-manage a crematorium in the post-industrial Eleonas district.
Under a recent law passed in the country, crematoria can only be run by municipalities, with the latter enjoying a near monopoly on owning and managing cemeteries in the country.
Private crematoria are still not legal in Greece.
