Kipoi ( el, Κήποι, before 1928: Μπάγια – ''Bagia'') is a village in the region of

Zagori Zagori ( el, Ζαγόρι; rup, 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 and contains 46 villages known as ...

. It belongs to the municipal unit of Tymfi, Ioannina regional unit, Greece. The Greek name derives from the many gardens in the surrounding areas (Greek Κήποι=Gardens). The name "Bagia" is Slavic and means "warm (and low) place".A.Kathareios (Inspector of the 1st educational region of Epirus) ''Report of Inspection of Zagorohoria in 1913'' The village has the lowest altitude of all Zagori village and is surrounded by rivers. It is built on a rocky hill, in the southern end of Vikos Gorge.

History and culture

Kipoi was once the centre of Zagori. After the

Balkan Wars The Balkan Wars refers to a series of two conflicts that took place in the Balkan States in 1912 and 1913. In the First Balkan War, the four Balkan States of Greece, Serbia, Montenegro and Bulgaria declared war upon the Ottoman Empire and defe ...

and the liberation of Epirus in 1913, the people of Kipi demanded that Kipoi becomes the capital of

, because it is the most central village and because it once was the "capital". In Kipoi, the traditional architectural style of Epirus is well preserved, with stone built roads and dwellings. The village is surrounded by stone bridges. In the entrance lies Kontodimos bridge, down in the valley, the beautiful Milos bridge connects the village to the old water mill and Petsonis bridge in the exit towards Fragades. Milos bridge, Kipoi

One can find more bridges on the old paths towards Elati, Dikorfo, Negades and Tsepelovo. Not far from the villages lies a three arched stone bridge, of the 18th century (''illustration''). The bridge is also a unique tourist attraction of today, on the local road to central Zagori, just out of the village.

Orthodox Orthodox, Orthodoxy, or Orthodoxism may refer to: Religion * Orthodoxy, adherence to accepted norms, more specifically adherence to creeds, especially within Christianity and Judaism, but also less commonly in non-Abrahamic religions like Neo-pag ...

Albanians The Albanians (; sq, Shqiptarët ) are an ethnic group and nation native to the Balkan Peninsula who share a common Albanian ancestry, culture, history and language. They primarily live in Albania, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Se ...

, locally called "Arvanites", have settled the village after the 15th century, later assimilating into the local population. Sarakatsani have settled at the beginning of the 20th century. Today, the museum of the famous collector

Agapios Tolis Agapius may refer to: *Agapius, traditionally one of the companions of Aphrodisius *Agapius of Spain (died 259), Christian martyr, died at Citra *Agapius of Palestine (died 303/304), Christian martyr, beheaded along with many others under Great Per ...

is located in Kipoi, where more than 40.000 exhibits are included.http://www.epirus.com/tolis/

History and culture

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References