Koukouli ( el, Κουκούλι) is a village of the

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 ...

region, in the municipal unit of

Tymfi Tymphe (in Latin and English usage) or Tymfi (in the Greek government's preferred transliteration), Timfi, also Tymphi (, ) is a mountain in the northern Pindus mountain range, northwestern Greece. It is part of the regional unit of Ioannina and ...

. It is situated at the southern end of the

Vikos Gorge The Vikos Gorge or Vikos Canyon ( gr, Φαράγγι του Βίκου) is a gorge in the Pindus Mountains of north-western Greece. It lies on the southern slopes of Mount Tymphe with a length of about 32 km, depth ranging from 120 to 1350 ...

History

The village takes its name from the Greek word of silkworm cocoon; silk production in the wider region of Zagori was popular during the past centuries. The village appears to be founded somewhere in the 13th century. It was included in the treaty signed between the villages of Zagori (there were 14 at the time) and the

Ottomans The Ottoman Turks ( tr, Osmanlı Türkleri), were the Turkic founding and sociopolitically the most dominant ethnic group of the Ottoman Empire ( 1299/1302–1922). Reliable information about the early history of Ottoman Turks remains scarce, ...

at 1430, which marked the beginning of Ottoman rule in the region. The villages of Zagori formed an autonomous federation for the next centuries. The privileges which were granted to the federation of Zagori and which are due, in the biggest part, to the influence of notable Zagorians over the

Sublime Porte The Sublime Porte, also known as the Ottoman Porte or High Porte ( ota, باب عالی, Bāb-ı Ālī or ''Babıali'', from ar, باب, bāb, gate and , , ), was a synecdoche for the central government of the Ottoman Empire. History The nam ...

, were preserved until 1868. According to these privileges, Zagori was autonomous and self-governed under the surveillance of the Vekili of Zagori. Many inhabitants during the 18th century became merchants, traveled abroad and made huge profits. The Plakidas family was one of those that made a fortune.

Alexios Plakidas Alexius is the Latinized form of the given name Alexios ( el, Αλέξιος, polytonic , "defender", cf. Alexander), especially common in the later Byzantine Empire. The female form is Alexia ( el, Αλεξία) and its variants such as Alessia ...

, a local benefactor, donated huge amounts of money for the village and the Zagori region. Prior to the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, Koukoulians used to migrate to Asia Minor and the United States. Inside Greece, they mostly migrated to Macedonia.A.Kathareios (Inspector of the 1st educational region of Epirus) ''Report of Inspection of Zagorohoria in 1913'' Today, like the rest of

, the village is a tourist destination, mainly in winter season. Buildings of traditional architecture such as the 2 schools and the historical Inn, serve as hotels for the tourists.

Notable people

Manthos Iconomou Manthos Economou ( el, Μάνθος Οικονόμου; 1754 – 22 August 1820) was a Greeks, Greek member of the Filiki Eteria, private secretary and advisor of Ali Pasha of Ioannina. He was executed by the Ottoman troops. Biographical informatio ...

(1754–1822), scholar and advisor of Ali Pasha. *

, merchant and benefactor. * Konstantinos Lazaridis, scholar and botanologist, founder of the natural museum of Koukouli. * Lefteris Zagoritis, former member of the Greek parliament. * Demetrios Stroubos (1806 - 1890), professor.

References

External links

* http://www.koukouli-zagoriou.gr Site of the Koukouli cultural organization (Greek).
Prefecture of Ioannina. Tourist department of Greece
{{Zagori div Populated places in Ioannina (regional unit)