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Monodendri (Ioannina)
Encyclopedia
Monodendri is a village in the Ioannina Prefecture
(Epirus
region) in Greece
. It is part of the municipal unit of Central Zagori
in the Zagori
region, and is located 41 km north of the city of Ioannina
.
Monodendri is built at a height of 1060 meters and retains much of the traditional stone-built architecture.
.
As with the other Zagori
villages, Monodendri enjoyed an extended period of commercial and economic prosperity during the 17th and 18th centuries. There were schools built, churches in the Byzantine style
and luxurious stone manors . The first school, the Scholarcheion, was`founded in 1750. In the school taught among others Paparousis, who later in 1814 taught in the Academy of Bucharest and in Vienna
, where he published an article on Physical Science
in Logios Hermes (Hermes ho Logios). In the Scholarcheion also taught the renowned Neophytos Dotos (1814–18) and Anastasios Sakellarios from 1825 to 1830, when he left to direct the new Zosimaia School
in Ioannina
. The school is said to have had also some distinguished students, among them Georgios Gennadios
and the revolutionary leader Markos Botsaris
from Souli
.
Monodendri was the birthplace of the merchants and national benefactors Manthos and Georgios Rizaris
, and of Angelos Kitsos
(former president of the Rizarios Foundation). There were three schools in Monodendri in the 19th century, a primary school (“Ellinikon” or Common School of Greek Studies (Greek
: Κοινή Σχολή Ελληνικών Μαθημάτων) founded by the brothers Manthos and Georgios Rizaris
in 1835) and housed in their original home, an Allelodidaktikon (high school) and a school for girls, the Parthenagogeion, also founded by the Rizaris brothers in 1841.
Monodendrites usually immigrated to Macedonia
and Southern Greece
. Outside Greece, they immigrated to Egypt
, Romania
, Asia Minor
, Africa
and the U.S.A.
The monastery of St Elias dates from the period of the foundation of Monodendri at the turn of the 15th C. From the same time dates also the church of St George (Agios Georgios). Georgios Gennadios
and Markos Botsaris
were during their childhood students at the monastery of St Elias.
Near the village lies the historic monastery of Agia Paraskevi, built on the edge of the Vikos Gorge
. The monastery was founded in 1412 by Michael Voevodas Therianos and the people of Vitsa
, as stated on an inscription, during the reign of Carlo I Tocco
. It was a property of the monastery of St Elias but was refounded as a nunnery in 1778. The panoramic view from the monastery is spectacular.
Because of its scenery and traditional architecture Monodendri attracts some tourism, especially during the Christmas period.
Ioannina Prefecture
Ioannina is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the Epirus region. Its capital is the city of Ioannina. It is the largest regional unit in Epirus, and one of the largest regional units of Greece.-Geography:...
(Epirus
Epirus (region)
Epirus is a geographical and historical region in southeastern Europe, shared between Greece and Albania. It lies between the Pindus Mountains and the Ionian Sea, stretching from the Bay of Vlorë in the north to the Ambracian Gulf in the south...
region) in Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
. It is part of the municipal unit of Central Zagori
Central Zagori
Central Zagori is a former municipality in the Ioannina regional unit, Epirus, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Zagori, of which it is a municipal unit. Its population was 1601 in 2001. The seat of the municipality was in Asprangeloi....
in the Zagori
Zagori
Zagori , is a region and a municipality in the Pindus mountains in Epirus, in northwestern Greece. The seat of the municipality is the village Asprangeloi. It has an area of some 1,000 square kilometres and contains 45 villages known as Zagoria , and is in the shape of an upturned equilateral...
region, and is located 41 km north of the city of Ioannina
Ioannina
Ioannina , often called Jannena within Greece, is the largest city of Epirus, north-western Greece, with a population of 70,203 . It lies at an elevation of approximately 500 meters above sea level, on the western shore of lake Pamvotis . It is located within the Ioannina municipality, and is the...
.
Monodendri is built at a height of 1060 meters and retains much of the traditional stone-built architecture.
History
The name "Monodendri" came into use only in the beginning of the 19th century. Its origin is in a very large tree, whose remains still existed in 1910. The village was previously considered a neighbourhood of VitsaVitsa
Vitsa is one of the largest villages of central Zagori. It is situated at an altitude of 955m on a mountain slope near the Vikos gorge with roads linking it to Greek National Road 6. Vitsa is famous for its old double-arched bridge of Missios.-History:...
.
As with the other Zagori
Zagori
Zagori , is a region and a municipality in the Pindus mountains in Epirus, in northwestern Greece. The seat of the municipality is the village Asprangeloi. It has an area of some 1,000 square kilometres and contains 45 villages known as Zagoria , and is in the shape of an upturned equilateral...
villages, Monodendri enjoyed an extended period of commercial and economic prosperity during the 17th and 18th centuries. There were schools built, churches in the Byzantine style
Byzantine architecture
Byzantine architecture is the architecture of the Byzantine Empire. The empire gradually emerged as a distinct artistic and cultural entity from what is today referred to as the Roman Empire after AD 330, when the Roman Emperor Constantine moved the capital of the Roman Empire east from Rome to...
and luxurious stone manors . The first school, the Scholarcheion, was`founded in 1750. In the school taught among others Paparousis, who later in 1814 taught in the Academy of Bucharest and in Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
, where he published an article on Physical Science
Physical science
Physical science is an encompassing term for the branches of natural science and science that study non-living systems, in contrast to the life sciences...
in Logios Hermes (Hermes ho Logios). In the Scholarcheion also taught the renowned Neophytos Dotos (1814–18) and Anastasios Sakellarios from 1825 to 1830, when he left to direct the new Zosimaia School
Zosimaia School
The Zosimaia School of Ioannina has been one of the most significant Greek middle-level educational institutions during the last period of Ottoman rule in the region...
in Ioannina
Ioannina
Ioannina , often called Jannena within Greece, is the largest city of Epirus, north-western Greece, with a population of 70,203 . It lies at an elevation of approximately 500 meters above sea level, on the western shore of lake Pamvotis . It is located within the Ioannina municipality, and is the...
. The school is said to have had also some distinguished students, among them Georgios Gennadios
Georgios Gennadios
Georgios Gennadios was a Greek man of letters who helped considerably in the foundation of some of the first educational establishments of modern Greece...
and the revolutionary leader Markos Botsaris
Markos Botsaris
Markos Botsaris was a Souliote captain and a hero of the War of Greek Independence. Markos Botsaris is among the most revered national heroes in Greece.-Early life:...
from Souli
Souli
Souli is a municipality in Epirus, northwestern Greece. It was originally settled by both Greek and Albanian refugees who were hunted by the Ottomans in Thesprotia, Greece and Laberia, Albania. In early modern times, it was inhabited by about 12,000 Souliotes. After their expulsion the population...
.
Monodendri was the birthplace of the merchants and national benefactors Manthos and Georgios Rizaris
Manthos and Georgios Rizaris
Manthos Rizaris and Georgios Rizaris were Greek benefactors, merchants and members of the organization Filiki Eteria.Rizari brothers were born in the village of Monodendri of Zagori region . They lost both parents at an early age. Manthos Rizaris, the elder brother, moved to Moscow, in order to...
, and of Angelos Kitsos
Angelos Kitsos
Angelos Kitsos was the president of Rizarios Foundation .He was a Greek from Monodendri, Zagori. He was member of the Councils of the Foundation for the Restoration of Greeks from Albania and the Foundation of Research of the Ionian and Adriatic space...
(former president of the Rizarios Foundation). There were three schools in Monodendri in the 19th century, a primary school (“Ellinikon” or Common School of Greek Studies (Greek
Greek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
: Κοινή Σχολή Ελληνικών Μαθημάτων) founded by the brothers Manthos and Georgios Rizaris
Manthos and Georgios Rizaris
Manthos Rizaris and Georgios Rizaris were Greek benefactors, merchants and members of the organization Filiki Eteria.Rizari brothers were born in the village of Monodendri of Zagori region . They lost both parents at an early age. Manthos Rizaris, the elder brother, moved to Moscow, in order to...
in 1835) and housed in their original home, an Allelodidaktikon (high school) and a school for girls, the Parthenagogeion, also founded by the Rizaris brothers in 1841.
Monodendrites usually immigrated to Macedonia
Macedonia (Greece)
Macedonia is a geographical and historical region of Greece in Southern Europe. Macedonia is the largest and second most populous Greek region...
and Southern Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
. Outside Greece, they immigrated to Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
, Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
, Asia Minor
Asia Minor
Asia Minor is a geographical location at the westernmost protrusion of Asia, also called Anatolia, and corresponds to the western two thirds of the Asian part of Turkey...
, Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
and the U.S.A.
Architecture
The church of Aghios Athanasios, in the middle of the central square, is of significant historical value. The bequests of the Rizari brothers are visible in the village today, and include the Rizarios Exhibition Center, the Rizarios Handicraft School and the primary school. The amphitheatrically built stone theater, in the village end, is used for cultural festivals during the summer months.The monastery of St Elias dates from the period of the foundation of Monodendri at the turn of the 15th C. From the same time dates also the church of St George (Agios Georgios). Georgios Gennadios
Georgios Gennadios
Georgios Gennadios was a Greek man of letters who helped considerably in the foundation of some of the first educational establishments of modern Greece...
and Markos Botsaris
Markos Botsaris
Markos Botsaris was a Souliote captain and a hero of the War of Greek Independence. Markos Botsaris is among the most revered national heroes in Greece.-Early life:...
were during their childhood students at the monastery of St Elias.
Near the village lies the historic monastery of Agia Paraskevi, built on the edge of the Vikos Gorge
Vikos Gorge
The Vikos Gorge is a gorge in the Pindus Mountains of northern Greece. It lies on the southern slopes of Mount Tymfi, with a length of about 20 km, depth ranging from 450 m to 1600 m and width from 400 m to some meters at its narrowest part....
. The monastery was founded in 1412 by Michael Voevodas Therianos and the people of Vitsa
Vitsa
Vitsa is one of the largest villages of central Zagori. It is situated at an altitude of 955m on a mountain slope near the Vikos gorge with roads linking it to Greek National Road 6. Vitsa is famous for its old double-arched bridge of Missios.-History:...
, as stated on an inscription, during the reign of Carlo I Tocco
Carlo I Tocco
Carlo I Tocco was the ruler of Epirus from 1411 until his death on July 4, 1429.-Life:Carlo I was the son of Count Leonardo I Tocco of Cephalonia and Leukas by Maddalena de' Buondelmonti, sister of Esau de' Buondelmonti of Epirus...
. It was a property of the monastery of St Elias but was refounded as a nunnery in 1778. The panoramic view from the monastery is spectacular.
Notable Monodendrites
- The national benefactors Manthos and Georgios RizarisManthos and Georgios RizarisManthos Rizaris and Georgios Rizaris were Greek benefactors, merchants and members of the organization Filiki Eteria.Rizari brothers were born in the village of Monodendri of Zagori region . They lost both parents at an early age. Manthos Rizaris, the elder brother, moved to Moscow, in order to...
, founders of the Rizareios Foundation in AthensAthensAthens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...
in 1841 and of the Rizareios Ecclesiastical School in 1844, while Monodendri was still under OttomanOttoman EmpireThe Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
rule. - Ioannis Koniaris, mayor of AthensAthensAthens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...
in the 19th century. - Dimitrios Semitelos (1828–1898), scholar.