Athens Churches - Panagia Kapnikarea Church in Athens, Greece is one of the oldest and most significant religious sites in Athens. Constructed around 1050, the church was built on the former location of an ancient temple dedicated to either Athena or Demeter. This is a common practice for early Christian churches. Situated in the bustling and popular Ermou street, which connects Syntagma to Monastiraki Square, Panagia Kapnikarea is an iconic Athenian landmark. The church is devoted to Panagia, or the Virgin Mary, and is named "Kapnikarea" because of the marks of fire on its structure, deriving from the Greek word "kapnismeni" meaning smoked.

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