Ioannina

For the regional unit, see Ioannina (regional unit).

"Janina" redirects here. For other uses, see Janina (disambiguation).

Ioannina Ιωάννινα
View of Lake Pamvotis and the Northeastern citadel of the castle with the Aslan Pasha Mosque.
Seal
Ioannina
Location within the region
Coordinates:
Country	Greece
Administrative region	Epirus
Regional unit	Ioannina
Government
• Mayor	Thomas Mpegkas
Area
• Municipality	402.0 km2 (155.2 sq mi)
• Municipal unit	46.6 km2 (18.0 sq mi)
Elevation	480 m (1,570 ft)
Population (2001)
• Municipality	112,486
• Municipality density	280/km2 (720/sq mi)
• Municipal unit	80,371
• Municipal unit density	1,700/km2 (4,500/sq mi)
Community
Time zone	EET (UTC+2)
• Summer (DST)	EEST (UTC+3)
Postal code	45x xx
Area code(s)	26510
Vehicle registration	ΙΝ
Website	www.ioannina.gr

Ioannina (Greek: Ιωάννινα, Greek pronunciation: [io̞ˈɐ.ni.nɐ]), often called Yannena (Γιάννενα, Greek pronunciation: [ˈʝɐ.ne̞.nɐ]) within Greece, is the capital and largest city of Epirus, an administrative region in north-western Greece, with a population of 112,486 (in 2011). It lies at an elevation of approximately 500 metres (1,640 feet) above sea level, on the western shore of lake Pamvotis (Παμβώτις). It is located within the Ioannina municipality, and is the capital of Ioannina regional unit and the region of Epirus. Ioannina is located 450 km (280 mi) northwest of Athens, 290 kilometres (180 miles) southwest of Thessaloniki and 80 km (50 miles) east of the port of Igoumenitsa in the Ionian Sea.

Founded by the Byzantine Emperor Justinian in the 6th century AD, Ioannina flourished following the Fourth Crusade, when many wealthy Byzantine families fled there in the early 13th century following the sack of Constantinople. It was part of the Despotate of Epirus from 1358 to 1416, before surrendering to the Ottomans in 1430. Between 1430 and 1868 the city was the administrative center of the Pashalik of Yanina. In the period between the 18th and 19th centuries, the city was a major center of the modern Greek Enlightenment. Ioannina joined Greece in 1913 following the Balkan Wars.

The city has both a General and a University Hospital, and is the seat of the University of Ioannina (situated 5 km (3 mi) south of the city, with 17 departments and 20,000 students) as well as several departments of the Τechnological Educational Institute of Epirus, the headquarters of which are located in Arta.

The city's emblem consists of the portrait of the Byzantine Emperor Justinian crowned by a stylized depiction of the nearby ancient theater of Dodona.

Name

The city's formal name, Ioannina, means "Town of John" in Greek. The establishment of a Monastery of Saint John the Baptist on the north-eastern acropolis of the castle likely marks the origin of the town's name. There are two name forms in Greek, Ioannina being the formal and historical name, while the colloquial and more commonly used Jannena or Jannina (Greek: Γιάννινα) represents the vernacular tradition of Demotic Greek. The demotic form also corresponds to those in the neighbouring languages (e.g. Albanian: Janina or Janinë, Aromanian: Ianina, Enina, Turkish: Yanya).

History

Antiquity and Middle Ages

See also: Despotate of Epirus

The main entrance to the medieval fortress of the city.

The first indications of human existence in Ioannina basin are dated back to the Paleolithic period (20,000 years ago) as testified by findings in the cavern of Kastritsa. During classical antiquity the basin was inhabited by the Molossians and four of their settlements have been identified there. Despite the extensive destruction suffered in Molossia during the Roman conquest of 167 BC, settlement continued in the basin albeit no longer in an urban pattern. The exact time of the town's foundation is unknown, but an unnamed new, "well-fortified" city, recorded by the historian Procopius as having been built by the Byzantine emperor Justinian I for the inhabitants of ancient Euroia, is sometimes identified with Ioannina. However, it is not until 879 AD that the name Ioannina was used for the first time in the Acts of the Fourth Council of Constantinople in 879, which refer to one Zacharias, Bishop of Ioannine. During the time of Tsar Samuil of Bulgaria, the town was part of the Bulgarian Empire. The name Ioannina was also mentioned as an Episcopal See, under the self-governing (Autocephalous) Bulgarian Archbishopric of Ohrid in 1020 in an imperial document by Basil II. The city was conquered in 1082 by the Normans under the leadership of Bohemond of Taranto, who repaired the existing city walls in order to repel the offensive of emperor Alexios I Komnenos. Alexios I nonetheless recovered the city in 1108.

The "Rule (Orismos) of Sinan Pasa" (9 Oct. 1430), written in Greek, which granted to the citizens a series of privileges.

In the 13th century, the creation of the Despotate of Epirus favored Ioannina, which became its second most important city after its capital, Arta, and the capital of a thema of Ioannina. The founder of the Despotate, Michael I Komnenos Doukas settled there refugee noble Byzantine families who fled Constantinople and other parts of the Empire that fell to the Latins of the Fourth Crusade. Despite frictions with local inhabitants who tried in 1232 to expel the refugees, the latter were eventually successfully settled and Ioannina gained in both population and economic and political importance. The city was besieged unsuccessfully by an army from the restored Byzantine Empire, most likely in the summer or autumn of 1292. Following the assassination of the last Komnenos despot by his nephew in 1318, the citizens of Ioannina broke from the despotate and declared their allegiance to the Byzantine Empire. In the same year, Ioannina became tributary to the Byzantine emperor Andronikos II Palaiologos. The city was elevated to a metropolitan bishopric, and in 1319 Andronikos II issued a chrysobull conceding wide-ranging autonomy and various privileges and exemptions on its inhabitants.

In 1337–1340, Andronikos III Palaiologos, aided by John Kantakouzenos, dissolved the Despotate of Epirus and Ioannina became once again part of the Byzantine Empire. A few years later however it fell to the Serbs, who had, by then, expanded their state over much of Byzantine and Bulgarian territory to form the Serbian Empire. The city's privileges were also honored by the Serbs, and as a result Ioannina rose to economic and cultural prominence over the next century. The city flourished, becoming an important financial and cultural center. During the Byzantine times it was referred to as the "metropolis of knowledge". The city was the capital of the restored Despotate of Epirus from 1358 to 1416. In 1366/67 the Serb Thomas II Preljubović became the new overlord of Ioannina, under whose rule the city stood against Albanian attacks. After Preljubović's death in 1384, the city surrendered to Esau de' Buondelmonti (1385–1411) and Carlo I Tocco (1411–1430).

Early Ottoman period (1430–1647)

View of the Municipal Ethnographic Museum of Ioannina, Aslan Pasha Mosque.

The death of Tocco in 1430 signaled the submission of Ioannina to the Ottoman Turks who granted several privileges to the town in exchange for its surrender. These were known as the Rule of Sinan Pasha, from the name of Kara Sinan Pasha, who signed the treaty. Ioannina became a seat of the Ottoman Sanjak of Ioannina.

In 1611 the city suffered a serious setback as a result of a peasant revolt led by Dionysius the Philosopher (aka Skylosophos), Bishop of Larisa. The Greek inhabitants of the city were unaware of the intent of the fighting as previous successes of Dionysios had depended on the element of surprise. Much confusion ensued as Turks and Christians ended up indiscriminately fighting friend and foe alike. The revolt ended in the abolition of all privileges granted to the Christian inhabitants, who were driven away from the castle area and had to settle around it. From then onwards, Turks and Jews were to be established in the castle area. The School of Despoton at the Church of Taxiarches, that had been operating since 1204 was closed. Aslan Pasha also destroyed the monastery of St John the Baptist within the city walls, killed the monks and in 1618 erected in its place a mosque, Aslan Camii, today a museum.

Center of Greek Enlightenment (1647–1830)

Kaplaneios School.

Zosimaia School.

Zosimaia Ioannina Public Library

Despite that blow, the city managed to recover. Its inhabitants continued their commercial and handicraft activities which allowed them to trade with important European commercial centers, such as Venice and Livorno, where merchants from Ioannina established commercial and banking houses. The first three owned printing presses that were operating in Venice and published thousands of books for the Ottoman ruled Greek people were established by members of the Ioanniote diaspora: Nikolaos Glykys (1670), Nikolaos Sarros (1687) and Dimitrios Theodosiou (1755). Ioannina was the centre through which the books printed on these presses were channelled into Greece. These were significant historical, theological as well as scientific works, including an algebra book funded by the Zosimades family of Ioanniotan benefactors, books for use in the schools of Ioannina such as the Arithmetica of Balanos Vasilopoulos, as well as medical books. At the same time these merchants and entrepreneurs maintained close economic and intellectual relations with their birthplace and founded charity and education establishments. These merchants were to be major national benefactors.

In the 17th century Ioannina was a thriving city with respect to population and commercial activity as both French and Turkish travelers Jacques Spon and Evliya Çelebi, respectively, attest. Evliya Çelebi visited the city in 1670 and mentioned the presence of 1,900 shops and workshops and 4,000 houses. The great economic prosperity of the city was followed by remarkable cultural activity. During the 17th and 18th centuries, many important schools were established. The Epiphaniou was founded in 1647 by a Greek merchant in Venice, Epiphaneios Igoumenos. The School of Gouma or Gioumeios was founded in 1676 by a benefaction from another wealthy Ioanniote Greek from Venice, Emmanuel Goumas. It was renamed Balaneios by its Rector, Balanos Vasilopoulos in 1725. Here worked several notable personalities of the Greek Enlightenment, such as Bessarion Makris, the priests Georgios Sougdouris (1685/7–1725) and Anastasios Papavasileiou (1715-?), the monk Methodios Anthrakites, his student Ioannis Vilaras and Kosmas Balanos. The Balaneios taught Philosophy, Theology and Mathematics. It suffered financially from the capture of Venice by the French and finally stopped operation in 1820. The school's library, which hosted several manuscripts and epigrams, was also burned the same year following the capture of Ioannina by the troops the Sultan had sent against Ali Pasha. Another school founded by a benefaction by merchants of the Maroutses family, who were also active Venice, the Maroutsaia School, opened in 1742 and its first director Eugenios Voulgaris championed the study of the Physical Sciences (Physics and Chemistry) as well as philosophy and Greek. The Maroutsaia also suffered after the fall of Venice and closed in 1797 to be reopened as the Kaplaneios thanks to a benefaction from an Ioanniote living in Russia, Zoes Kaplanes. Its schoolmaster, Athanasios Psalidas had been a student of Methodios Anthrakites and had also studied in Vienna and in Russia. Psalidas established an important library of thousands of volumes in several languages and laboratories for the study of experimental physics and chemistry that aroused the interest and suspicion of Ali Pasha. The Kaplaneios was burned down along with most of the rest of the city after the entry of the Sultan’s armies in 1820. These schools took over the long tradition of the Byzantine era, giving a significant boost to the Greek Enlightenment. Neophytos Doukas a famous Epirote scholar wrote, with a little exaggeration:

During the 18th century, every author of the Greek world, was either from Ioannina or was a graduate of one of the city's schools.

In 1789 the city became the center of the territory ruled by Ali Pasha, an area that included the entire northwestern part of Greece, southern parts of Albania, Thessaly as well as parts of Euboea and the Peloponnese. The Ottoman-Albanian lord Ali Pasha was one of the most influential personalities of the region in the 18th and 19th centuries. Born in Tepelenë, he maintained diplomatic relations with the most important European leaders of the time and his court became a point of attraction for many of those restless minds who would become major figures of the Greek Revolution (Georgios Karaiskakis, Odysseas Androutsos, Markos Botsaris and others). Although during this time Ali Pasha committed a number of atrocities against the Greek population of Ioannina, culminating in the sewing up of local women in sacks and drowning them in the nearby lake, this period of his rule coincides with the greatest economic and intellectual era of the city. As a couplet has it "The city was first in arms, money and letters". The efforts of Ali Pasha to break away from the Sublime Porte alarmed the Ottoman government, and in 1820 (the year before the Greek War of Independence began) he was declared guilty of treason and Ioannina was besieged by Turkish troops. Ali Pasha was assassinated in 1822 in the monastery of St Panteleimon on the island of the lake, where he took refuge while waiting to be pardoned by Sultan Mahmud II.

Period 1830–1943

Naval gun of 1820 from Ioannina's fortress (used during the Greek War of Independence).

Greek lithography showing the surrender of Ioannina by Essat Pasha to the Greek Crown Prince future Constantine I during the First Balkan War.

The deportation of the Jews of Ioannina on 25 March 1944.

The Zosimaia was the first significant educational foundation established after the outbreak of the Greek War of Independence (1828). It was financed by a benefaction from the Zosimas brothers and began operating in 1828 and fully probably from 1833. It was a School of Liberal Arts (Greek, Philosophy and Foreign Languages). The Zosimaia was badly damaged in an air raid by Italian planes in 1940 and was rebuilt on a new more spacious location with donations from Ioanniotes after 1955. The mansion of Angeliki Papazoglou became the Papazogleiosschool for girls as an endowment following her death; it operated until 1905. Today it is a public school.

In 1869, a great part of Ioannina was destroyed by fire. The marketplace was soon reconstructed according to the plans of the German architect Holz, thanks to the personal interest of Ahmet Rashim Pasha, the local governor. Communities of people from Ioannina living abroad were active in financing the construction of most of the city's churches (the Cathedral, St. Nicholas of the Agora, St. Marina, Archimandrio etc.), schools and other elegant buildings of charitable establishments. The first bank of the Ottoman Empire, the Ottoman Bank, opened its first branch in Greece in Ioannina, which shows the power of the city in world trade in the 19th century. During the spring of 1877, Albanian leaders organized a congress in the city regarding decisions of the Constantinople Conference and sent a memorandum to the Ottoman government demanding, among other things, the establishment of Albanian language schools. In May 1877 various Muslim Albanians of the Vilayet formed in Ioannina a committee which aimed at defending Albanian rights, but it was inactive in general. On the other hand, the Greek population of the Ioannina region authorized a committee in order to present to European governments their wish for union with Greece; Dimitrios Chasiotis, a notable member of this committee, published a memorandum in Paris in 1879.

Ioannina was incorporated into the Greek state on 21 February 1913 after the Battle of Bizani in the First Balkan War. After the Asia Minor Catastrophe (1922) and the subsequent population exchange, the Muslim element of the population left, and the city received Greek refugees from Asia Minor. A small Muslim community of Albanian origin continued to live in Ioannina after the exchange, which in 1940 counted 20 families and decreased to 8 individuals in 1973.

Jewish community

Ioannina Old Synagogue.

Woman weeps during the deportation of the Jews.

According to the local Greek scholar Panayiotis Aravantinos, a synagogue destroyed in the 18th century bore an inscription, which dated its foundation in the late 9th century AD. The existing synagogue is located in the old fortified part of the city known as "Kastro", at 16 Ioustinianou street. Its name means "the Old Synagogue". It was constructed in 1829. Its architecture is typical of the Ottoman era, a large building made of stone. The interior of the synagogue is laid out in the Romaniote way: the Bimah (where the Torah scrolls are read out during service) is on a raised dais on the western wall, the Aron haKodesh (where the Torah scrolls are kept) is on the eastern wall and at the middle there is a wide interior aisle. The names of the Ioanniote Jews who were killed in the Holocaust are engraved in stone on the walls of the synagogue.

A municipal memorial to the 1,870 deported Jews in 1944

There was a Romaniote Jewish community living in Ioannina before World War II, in addition to a very small number of Sephardi.

Today the remaining community has shrunk to about 50 mostly elderly people. The Kehila Kedosha Yashan Synagogue remains locked, only opened for visitors on request. Emigrant Romaniotes return every summer and open the old synagogue. The last time a Bar Mitzvah (the Jewish ritual for celebrating the coming of age of a child) was held in the synagogue was in 2000, and was an exceptional event for the community.

A monument dedicated to the thousands of Greek Jews who perished during the Holocaust was constructed in the city in a 13th-century Jewish cemetery. In 2003 the memorial was vandalized by unknown anti-Semites. The Jewish cemetery too was repeatedly vandalized in 2009. As a response to the vandalisms, citizens of the city formed an initiative for the protection of the cemetery and organized rallies.

Climate

Ioannina has a borderline humid subtropical (Cfa) and Mediterranean climate (Csa) in the Köppen climate classification, since only two summer months have less than 40 millimetres (1.6 in) of rainfall, preventing it from being classified as solely humid subtropical or Mediterranean, and is tempered by its inland location and elevation. Summers are typically hot and moderately dry, while winters are wet and colder than on the coast with frequent frosts and occasional snowfall. Ioannina is the wettest city in Greece. The absolute maximum temperature ever recorded was 42.4 °C (108 °F), while the absolute minimum ever recorded was −13 °C (9 °F).

Climate data for Ioannina
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Average high °C (°F)	10.1 (50.2)	11.5 (52.7)	14.4 (57.9)	17.1 (62.8)	23.0 (73.4)	27.6 (81.7)	30.8 (87.4)	30.9 (87.6)	26.7 (80.1)	21.2 (70.2)	15.5 (59.9)	11.1 (52)	20.0 (68)
Daily mean °C (°F)	4.7 (40.5)	6.1 (43)	8.8 (47.8)	12.4 (54.3)	17.4 (63.3)	21.9 (71.4)	24.8 (76.6)	24.3 (75.7)	20.1 (68.2)	14.9 (58.8)	9.7 (49.5)	5.9 (42.6)	14.25 (57.65)
Average low °C (°F)	0.2 (32.4)	1.0 (33.8)	3.2 (37.8)	5.9 (42.6)	9.6 (49.3)	12.8 (55)	14.9 (58.8)	15.0 (59)	12.2 (54)	8.5 (47.3)	4.7 (40.5)	1.8 (35.2)	7.5 (45.5)
Average precipitation mm (inches)	124.2 (4.89)	111.6 (4.394)	95.4 (3.756)	78.0 (3.071)	69.3 (2.728)	43.5 (1.713)	32.0 (1.26)	31.2 (1.228)	54.0 (2.126)	99.5 (3.917)	167.2 (6.583)	174.9 (6.886)	1,181 (46.5)
Average precipitation days	13.3	12.4	12.8	12.6	11.0	6.9	4.8	4.8	6.5	9.7	13.7	15.2	123.7
Average relative humidity (%)	76.9	73.7	69.5	67.9	65.9	59.1	52.4	54.4	63.6	70.8	79.8	81.5	68.0
Source: Greek National Weather Service

Landmarks and sights

View of Lake Pamvotis with its islet.

Church of the Assumption, Pamvotis island.

Clocktower of Ioannina.

Street near the castle.

Kountourioti street

Fethiye Mosque

Ioannina has a wealth of attractions and museums. Given the wide dispersal of sights and the city's traffic difficulties, a visitor would probably find it difficult to visit them all. The most notable attractions are the following:

Islet of Pamvotis lake

One of the most notable attractions of Ioannina is the islet on Lake Pamvotis. The island is referred to as "Nisaki" (Νησάκι, Greek for "little island") by everyone, except its inhabitants, they call it "Nisi" (Νησί, Greek for "lsland"). Passengers are ferried back and forth from the mainland to the island (about a 15-minute ride each way) on small motorboats which run on varying schedules, according to the season (about once every half hour, or more, in the spring and summer, but much less frequently in the winter). Tourists can visit the monastery of Agios Panteleimon which has been converted into a museum containing information and paintings, as well as re-creations of Ali Pasha's lounging and living quarters. Ali Pasha spent the last days of his life in St Panteleimon, waiting for a pardon from the Sultan. The Island Museum is not the only attraction on the island: there are many gift-shops, tavernas, churches and bakeries on the island's winding streets. Some of the people of Ioannina even choose to make the tiny island their yearlong home, with simple rowboats moored outside their homes, or in small marinas, in the event they need to get to Ioannina proper when the motorboats are not running. The island of Ioannina in Lake Pamvotis has six monasteries: the monastery of St Nicholas (Ntiliou) or Strategopoulou from the 11th century, the Monastery of St Nicholas (Spanou) or Philanthropinon from 1292, St John the Baptist (1506 AD), Eleousis (1570 AD), St Panteleimon (17th century) and of the Transfiguration of Christ (1851 AD). The monasteries of Strategopoulou and Philanthropinon functioned also as colleges, at the latter of which taught Alexios Spanos, the monks Proklos and Comnenos and the Apsarades brothers, Theophanis and Nektarios. The school continued its activities until 1758, when it was superseded by the newer collegial foundations within the city.

The Castle

Main article: Ioannina Castle

Located in the center of the town, this was the heart of the Despotate of Epirus, and the Ottoman vilayet. The maze-like layout of the castle's streets (many of which lead to dead ends) was allegedly designed to confuse pirates of old who breached the castle walls: they would get lost within the fortress, and thus be captured before escaping with their booty. The south-eastern citadel bears the name Its Kale (Ιτς Καλέ, from Turkish Iç Kale, "inner fortress"). The Fethiye Mosque is located in Its Kale. The name means Victory Mosque; it was built in 1430 on the ruins of a Byzantine church. Its final form was given by Ali Pasha in 1795. The city's Byzantine Museum is housed in a building rebuilt on the ruins of the seraglio of Ali Pasha in Its Kale, which were completely destroyed by fire in 1870. The museum opened in 1995 in order to preserve the findings of the wider region of Epirus, chronologically covering the early Christian, Byzantine and post-Byzantine period. The museum's cultural center hosts musical and theatrical events, and issues periodic reports, among other activities. The collections include early Christian and Byzantine sculptures plus exhibits of the arts, ceramics, books, pictures and a valuable collection of silverware. During the summer season the museum operates Mondays 12.00-19.00 hours and other days 08.30-19.00. The museum is accessible to people with disabilities.

The north-western citadel of the fortress is dominated by the Aslan Pasha Mosque. Built in 1618, it now houses the Municipal Ethnographic Museum and its three departments, Greek, Ottoman Muslim and Jewish. Of particular interest are the Epirote costumes on display. The Museum of Fotis Rapakousis is located in the Aslan Mosque complex. By agreement between the city and the collector, the collection has been hosted on these premises since 2000, in cooperation with the Municipal Folklore and Ethnographic Museum, housed in the Aslan Mosque. The entire collection contains 6,000 objects, grouped in four categories: weapons with their accessories, jewelry from the 18th and 19th centuries, ceramics (Islamic art pottery of Greece, Tsanak Kale) Opening hours: 9:00 to 16:00.

The Jewish Synagogue of Ioannina is also located in the Castle. During the Ottoman period, the Jewish community, both Sepharadi and Romaniote, experienced a flowering. The Jews of Ioannina were an active presence in the city's life until March 1944, when the German occupation troops arrested the entire population, 1,870 strong at the time, along with Jews from Preveza, Arta and Corfu, and deported them to the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp, where most perished. Today the community consists of about 50 persons. The synagogue (7th century) lies inside the Castle of Ioannina. Other building of interest within the walls of the castle are the Soufari Sarai, former Ottoman cavalry school that now houses the state archives and the Old Ottoman Library. The latter is a ruin, but can be seen from outside.

The town

Historic Centre of Ioannina: You can see here small traditional shops and houses, and many souvenir shops. The National Archaeological Museum of Ioannina, Litharitsia Castle Square. Includes archaeological exhibits from four regional units of Epirus. You can see here the history of Epirus from prehistoric times through the 19th century. Notable exhibits include palaeolithic tools, finds from Dodona, bronze vessels and votive bronzes and Frankish/Byzantine capitals taken from a church of that period. The Municipal Gallery of Ioannina (Dimotiki Pinakothiki): Housed since 2000 in the Pyrsinela neoclassical building, built in 1890. Basil Pyrsinella who served as mayor of Ioannina, donated his movable and immovable property in 1958 to the municipality of Ioannina. In 1960 he created the first Regional Municipal Art Gallery in Greece. The Gallery's collection displays major modern works of painters and sculptors, collected through purchases and donations from various collectors and artists. This includes about 500 works, paintings, drawings, prints, pictures and sculptures. Hours Monday to Friday 9:00 to 13:00 and 18:00 to 21:00. Weekends 10:00 to 13:00 and 18:00 to 21:00. Stoa Loulis (= Arcade Loulis): In this commercial center co-existed for many years the three religious groups in the city: Christians, Jews and Muslims. Initially the gallery operated as an inn and then became a commercial center. The House Hussein Matei (= Bishop House) (Hussein Matei House). The building is a ruin, but can be seen from outside. Botanically, the region of Ioannina is dominated by robust, fragrant pine trees, many of which grow within the city itself, especially around the old castle, or fortress walls.

Religious buildings

The Cathedral of St Athanasius was completed in 1933. It was built on the foundations of the previous Orthodox Cathedral which was destroyed in the fires of 1820. It is a three-aisled basilica. It has become a place of pilgrimage for the martyrdrom of St George of Ioannina, an orphaned youth hanged in public by the Turks in 1838 for proclaiming his Christian faith. The churches of the Assumption of the Virgin at Perivleptos, St Nicholas of Kopanon and St Marina were rebuilt in the 1850s by funds from Nikolaos Zosimas and his brothers on the foundations of previous churches that perished in the great fire of 1820. From the Ottoman past of the city, apart from the two mosques located within the walls of the fortress, the Veli Pasha Ottoman Mosque as well as the Kaloutsiani mosques are still standing. The Jewish synagogue is located within the walls of the fortress.

Near the town

Near Ioannina, 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) south of the city, lies the Pavlos Vrellis Greek History Museum, a wax museum which covers events and personalities from Greek history. Established in 1995, this second Museum of Pavlos Vrellis (died 2010) is the result of the personal work of one man.

Tourism

The prefecture of Ioannina in addition to such natural and human resources, is quite an important pole of tourism attraction because of the wide range of archaeological sights and tourism attractions that are available. Only some of them, are numerous existing caves, many museums and archaeological sights, the castle of the city of Ioannina, the “Island” in “Pamvotis Lake”,the ancient theater of Dodoni, which is the largest in Greece and for which, consecutive efforts take place in order to be integrated in the UNESCO’s World heritage monuments-, the museum of the “Pavlos Vrellis” with the famous wax statues, and many more historical sights that constitute its history.

The region accepts many tourist inflows in recent years, who visit the nearby area of Zagoria, Metsovo and its ski center, the city of Ioannina and the surrounding area, as well as Konitsa, and have easy access to the Ionian coast as well, especially after the completion of the Egnatia Odos S.A, where the distance from Igoumenitsa and the Ionian coast is now only 35 minutes by car.

It should be noted, that this area, attracts mainly domestic tourism. According to the statistics, the ratio between Greek and foreign tourists, is 4 to 1. The population occupied in tourism in the county, covers about 18% or nearly 1/5 of the manpower as a whole.

The tourism flows in the area are increased, but not as much as they could. The tourist promotion of the county seems to be in a moderate level. Egnatia Odos S.A is a very important "gateway" for the development of tourism in the region, if properly used by the tourism authorities of the area. That is because, the infrastructure particularly in terms of lodgings, is generally adequate.

Local products

Feta cheese.

• The region of Ioannina is well known for the production of feta cheese. The area is also famous for its spring water Zagori, which is sold over much of Greece.

• Ioannina is famous throughout Greece for its silverwork, with a plethora of shops selling silver jewelry, bronzeware and decorative items (serving trays, recreations of shields and swords, etc.).

• Ioannina is also famous throughout Greece for its baklava.

• Hookahs (ναργιλές) are sold to tourists as novelty items and vary in size from small (3 inches in height) to quite large (4-5 ft (2 m). tall). The larger sized hookahs are often purchased by Greeks and tourists alike to be used in home decor.

Newspapers

• Ipirotikos Agon is a locally published newspaper.

The town hall

Municipality

The present municipality Ioannina was formed at the 2011 local government reform by the merger of the following 6 former municipalities, that became municipal units (constituent communities in brackets):

• Ioannina (Ioannina, Exochi, Marmara, Neochoropoulo, Stavraki)
• Anatoli (Anatoli, Bafra, Neokaisareia)
• Bizani (Ampeleia, Bizani, Asvestochori, Kontsika, Kosmira, Manoliasa, Pedini)
• Ioannina Island (Greek: Nisos Ioanninon)
• Pamvotida (Katsikas, Anatoliki, Vasiliki, Dafnoula, Drosochori, Iliokali, Kastritsa, Koutselio, Krapsi, Longades, Mouzakaioi, Platania, Platanas, Charokopi)
• Perama (Perama, Amfithea, Kranoula, Krya, Kryovrysi, Ligkiades, Mazia, Perivleptos, Spothoi)

Notable Ioannites

Athanasios Psalidas

Traditional dress of Ioannina

• Christos Adamidis (1885–1949), pioneer aviator and Hellenic Army General.
• Methodios Anthrakites (1660–1736), scholar.
• Reshid Akif Pasha, Ottoman statesman
• Markos Avgeris (1884–1973), poet.
• Amalia Bakas (1897-1979), singer.
• Kosmas Balanos (1731–1808), scholar.
• Mehmet Esat Bülkat (1862 – 1952), Ottoman general.
• İzzettin Çalışlar (1882 - 1951), officer of the Ottoman Army.
• Georgios Hatzis (Pelleren) (1881–1930), author and journalists.
• Dimitrios Hatzis (1913–1981), novelist.
• Michael Christaris (1773–1851), scholar.
• Josef Elijia (1901–1931), Jewish Greek poet.
• Mit’hat Frashëri (1880–1949) politician and writer.
• Nikolaos Glykys (1619–1693), merchant and book publisher.
• Vasileios Goudas (1779-1845), fighter of the Greek War of Independence.
• Georgios Hadjikonstas (1753–1845), benefactor.
• Epifanios Igoumenos (1568–1648), scholar.
• John Ioannidis (1965-), physician and epidemiologist
• Maroutsis family, traders and benefactors.
• Elisabeth Kastrisogia (1800–1863), benefactor.
• Bessarion Makris (1635–1699), scholar.
• Thomas II Preljubović (1346–1416), Serbian ruler of Despotate of Epirus
• Leonidas Palaskas (1819–1880), Hellenic navy officer.
• Grigorios Paliouritis (1778–1816), scholar.
• Lambros Photiadis (1752-1805), scholar.
• Athanasios Psalidas (1767–1829), scholar, of the main contributors of the Modern Greek Enlightenment.
• Ahmed Reshadi, kaymakam of Lezhë and Metsovo.
• Abdülhalik Renda Chairman of the Turkish National Assembly.
• Dimitrios Theodosiou, book publisher.
• Athanasios Tsakalov (1790-1851), one of the three founders of Filiki Eteria
• Nikolaos Sarros (1617–1697), book publisher, owner of one of the first Greek printing-houses in Venice.
• Georgios Stavros (1787–1869) benefactor, founder of the National Bank of Greece.
• Simon Strategopoulos 15th-century noble and governor of Ioannina.
• Georgios Sougdouris (1645/7–1725), scholar.
• Balanos Vasilopoulos (1694–1760), scholar.
• Ioannis Vilaras (1771–1823), poet and scholar.
• Hierotheos (Vlachos), theologian.
• Pavlos Vrellis (1922–2010), sculptor.
• Wehib Pasha (1877–1940), Ottoman general.
• Zosimades, benefactors, founders of the famous Zosimaia School.

Sports teams

Ioannina is home to a major sports team called PAS Giannina. It's an inspiration for many of old as well as new supporters of the whole region of Epirus, even outside Ioannina. Rowing is also very popular in Ioannina; the lake hosted several international events and serves as the venue for part of the annual Greek Rowing Championships.

Sport clubs based in Ioannina
Club	Founded	Sports	Achievements
PAS Giannina	1966	Football	Long-time presence in A Ethniki
AGS Giannena	1967	Basketball, Volleyball	Earlier presence in A1 Ethniki volleyball
AE Giannena F.C.	2004	Football	Earlier presence in Gamma Ethniki
Giannena AS	2014	Volleyball	Presence in A2 Ethniki volleyball

Transport

Egnatia Odos near Ioannina.

• Ioannina is served by Ioannina National Airport.
• The Via Egnatia highway, known in Greece as the Egnatia Odos, (part of the E90) passes by Ioannina. It links the west coast port of Igoumenitsa with the Turkish border.
• Air Sea Lines flew from Lake Pamvotis to Corfu with seaplanes. Air Sea Lines has suspended flights from Corfu to Ioannina since 2007.
• Long-distance buses (Ktel) travel daily to Athens (6 - 6.5 hours) and Thessaloniki (3 hours).

Population data

Population of the Municipality of Ioannina.

Year	Town	Municipal unit	Municipality
1981	44,829	–	–
1991	56,699	63,725	–
2001	61,629	70,203	–
2011	65,574	80,371	112,486

Population censuses, 1981–2011.

International relations

See also: List of twin towns and sister cities in Greece

Twin towns – sister cities

Ioannina is twinned with:

• Korçë, Albania
• Himarë, Albania
• Ayia Napa, Cyprus
• Limassol, Cyprus

Gallery

• 

  Lake Pamvotis and Fethiye Mosque

• 

  Statue of Pyrrhus of Epirus

• 

  Gate to the castle

• 

  View of the castle

• 

  Glykidon street

• 

  Kaningos street

• 

  Bust of poet Lorentzos Mavilis

• 

  Boat on the lake

• 

  Statue of Marshal Alexandros Papagos

See also

• Epirus
• Zagori, region and municipality near Ioannina

External links

• Municipality of Ioannina (Greek)
• News and Events for the city of Ioannina
• "Here Their Stories Will Be Told..." The Valley of the Communities at Yad Vashem, Ioannina, at Yad Vashem website.