Ioannina ( el, Περιφερειακή ενότητα Ιωαννίνων) is one of the

regional units of Greece The 74 regional units of Greece ( el, περιφερειακές ενότητες, ; sing. , ) are the country's Seventy-four second-level administrative units. They are divisions of the country's 13 regions, and are further divided into munici ...

. It is part of the region of

Epirus sq, Epiri rup, Epiru , native_name_lang = , settlement_type = Historical region , image_map = Epirus antiquus tabula.jpg , map_alt = , map_caption = Map of ancient Epirus by Heinri ...

. Its capital is the city of

Ioannina Ioannina ( el, Ιωάννινα ' ), often called Yannena ( ' ) within Greece, is the capital and largest city of the Ioannina regional unit and of Epirus, an administrative region in north-western Greece. According to the 2011 census, the c ...

. It is the largest regional unit in Epirus, and one of the largest regional units of Greece, with a population of 167,901 people, according to the 2011 census.
GOV. results of permanent population 2011
, p. 10561 (p. 87 of pdf), and in Excel format
Table of permanent population 2011
from the sit
Hellenic Statistical AuthorityArchived
2017-11-24. Retrieved 2018-01-09.

Geography

Ioannina borders

Albania Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and share ...

in the north, and the regional units of

Kastoria Kastoria ( el, Καστοριά, ''Kastoriá'' ) is a city in northern Greece in the region of Western Macedonia. It is the capital of Kastoria regional unit, in the geographic region of Macedonia. It is situated on a promontory on the weste ...

in the northeast,

Grevena Grevena ( el, Γρεβενά, ''Grevená'', , rup, Grebini) is a town and municipality in Western Macedonia, northern Greece, capital of the Grevena regional unit. The town's current population is 13,374 citizens (2011). It lies about from Ath ...

and

Trikala Trikala ( el, Τρίκαλα; rup, Trikolj) is a city in northwestern Thessaly, Greece, and the capital of the Trikala regional unit. The city straddles the Lithaios river, which is a tributary of Pineios. According to the Greek National Stati ...

in the east, Arta in the southeast,

Preveza Preveza ( el, Πρέβεζα, ) is a city in the region of Epirus, northwestern Greece, located on the northern peninsula at the mouth of the Ambracian Gulf. It is the capital of the regional unit of Preveza, which is part of the region of Epiru ...

in the south and

Thesprotia Thesprotia (; el, Θεσπρωτία, ) is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the Epirus region. Its capital and largest town is Igoumenitsa. Thesprotia is named after the Thesprotians, an ancient Greek tribe that inhabited the ...

in the southwest and west. Ioannina is a mountainous region, dominated by the

Pindus The Pindus (also Pindos or Pindhos; el, Πίνδος, Píndos; sq, Pindet; rup, Pindu) is a mountain range located in Northern Greece and Southern Albania. It is roughly 160 km (100 miles) long, with a maximum elevation of 2,637 metres ...

mountains, that cover the eastern part of the regional unit. The main subranges of the Pindus are from north to south:

Gramos Gramos ( sq, Gramoz, Mali i Gramozit; rup, Gramosta, Gramusta; el, Γράμος or Γράμμος) is a mountain range on the border of Albania and Greece. The mountain is part of the northern Pindus mountain range. Its highest peak, at the ...

Smolikas Mount Smolikas ( el, Σμόλικας; rup, Smolcu) is a mountain in the Ioannina regional unit, northwestern Greece. At a height of 2,637 metres above sea level, it is the highest of the Pindus Mountains, and the second highest mountain in Gr ...

(2,637 m, the highest of the Pindus),

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 ...

, Lygkos,

Lakmos Lakmos ( el, Λάκμος) is a mountain in eastern Ioannina and western Trikala regional units. The mountain is a part of the Pindus mountain range. Its highest peak is the ''Peristeri'', at 2,295 m elevation. It stretches from the village Kraps ...

and Athamanika. The lower Xerovouni mountains are situated in the south, and the

Tomaros Tomaros ( el, Τόμαρος, also Ολύτσικας - ''Olytsikas'' or ''Tomaros'') is a mountain in southwestern Ioannina regional unit, Greece. Rising to the south of the archaeological site of Dodona, it is part of the Pindus mountain rang ...

in the southwest. Lake Pamvotida is the largest lake of Epirus. Several major rivers have their source in the Ioannina regional unit, including

Aoös The Vjosa (; indefinite form: ) or Aoös ( el, Αώος) is a river in northwestern Greece and southwestern Albania. Its total length is about , of which the first are in Greece, and the remaining in Albania. Its drainage basin is and its ave ...

Arachthos Arachthos ( el, Άραχθος) is a former municipality in the Arta regional unit, Epirus, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Nikolaos Skoufas Nikolaos Skoufas ( el, Νικόλαος Σκουφάς; 17 ...

and

Acheron The Acheron (; grc, Ἀχέρων ''Acheron'' or Ἀχερούσιος ''Acherousios''; ell, Αχέροντας ''Acherontas'') is a river located in the Epirus region of northwest Greece. It is long, and its drainage area is . Its source is ...

History

:''See also the history sections of the

Epirus sq, Epiri rup, Epiru , native_name_lang = , settlement_type = Historical region , image_map = Epirus antiquus tabula.jpg , map_alt = , map_caption = Map of ancient Epirus by Heinri ...

and

articles.'' The area of the present regional unit of Ioannina joined Greece in 1913, after the

First Balkan War The First Balkan War ( sr, Први балкански рат, ''Prvi balkanski rat''; bg, Балканска война; el, Αʹ Βαλκανικός πόλεμος; tr, Birinci Balkan Savaşı) lasted from October 1912 to May 1913 and invo ...

Administration

The regional unit Ioannina is subdivided into 8 municipalities. These are (number as in the map in the infobox): *

Dodoni Dodoni ( el, Δωδώνη) is a village and a municipality in the Ioannina regional unit, Epirus, Greece. The seat of the municipality is the village Agia Kyriaki (community Theriakisi). The modern village of Dodoni is located near the ancient ci ...

(3) *

(1) * Konitsa (6) *

Metsovo Metsovo ( el, Μέτσοβο; rup, Aminciu) is a town in Epirus, in the mountains of Pindus in northern Greece, between Ioannina to the west and Meteora to the east. The largest centre of Aromanian (Vlach) life in Greece, Metsovo is a large re ...

(7) *

North Tzoumerka North Tzoumerka ( el, Βόρεια Τζουμέρκα) is a municipality in the Ioannina regional unit, Epirus, Greece. The seat of the municipality is the village Pramanta. The municipality has an area of 358.334 km2. The municipality is named a ...

(''Voreia Tzoumerka'', 2) *

Pogoni Pogoni ( el, Πωγώνι, rup, Pugon) is a municipality in the Ioannina regional unit, Epirus, Greece. The seat of the municipality is the village Kalpaki. The municipality has an area of 701.059 km2. Its population was 8,960 at the 2011 c ...

(8) *

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 ...

(5) *

Zitsa Zitsa ( el, Ζίτσα) is a village and a municipality in the Ioannina regional unit, Epirus, Greece. The seat of the municipality is the village Eleousa. The municipality has an area of 565.566 km2, the municipal unit 65.868 km2, the c ...

(4)

Prefecture

Ioannina was established as a

prefecture A prefecture (from the Latin ''Praefectura'') is an administrative jurisdiction traditionally governed by an appointed prefect. This can be a regional or local government subdivision in various countries, or a subdivision in certain international ...

in 1915 ( el, Νομός Ιωαννίνων). As a part of the 2011 Kallikratis government reform, the regional unit Ioannina was created out of the former prefecture Ioannina. The prefecture had the same territory as the present regional unit. At the same time, the municipalities were reorganised, according to the table below.

Provinces

*Province of

- Ioannina *Province of Konitsa - Konitsa *Province of

- Metsovo *Province of

- Delvinaki ''Note:'' Provinces no longer hold any legal status in

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders wi ...

Transport

* Egnatia Odos (A2)/ E90, NW, Cen., NE *

Ionia Odos The Greek Motorway 5 ( el, Αυτοκινητόδρομος 5; code: A5) is a motorway in Greece. The motorway, commonly referred to as Ionia Odos ( el, Ιόνια Οδός) or Ionia Motorway, starts at Ioannina and it follows the western coastl ...

(A5)/ E55,

E951 Aspartame is an artificial non-saccharide sweetener 200 times sweeter than sucrose and is commonly used as a sugar substitute in foods and beverages. It is a methyl ester of the aspartic acid/phenylalanine dipeptide with the trade names ...

, S, Cen. * Greek National Road 5/ E55 S, Cen. *

Greek National Road 6 Greek National Road 6 ( el, Εθνική Οδός 6, abbreviated as EO6) is a national road in north-central Greece. It begins at the port of Igoumenitsa and ends at Volos, passing through the towns Ioannina, Metsovo, Trikala and Larissa. The ...

, W, Cen., E *

Greek National Road 17 Greek National Road 17 ( el, Εθνική Οδός 17, abbreviated as EO17) is a single carriageway road in northwestern Greece. It connects Ioannina with Dodoni, via Bizani Bizani ( el, Μπιζάνι) is a village and a former municipality i ...

, S, SW * Greek National Road 20/ E853, Cen., NW, N * Greek National Road 26, NW * Ioannina Airport

Tourism

The prefecture of Ioannina, like most of the Greek mainland, is not as popular as the islands among tourists. However, besides the city

, there are a number of attractions in the area, including: * A few kilometres south of the city is the Vrellis wax statue museum, displaying scenes from Greek history. A small department in the city centre is free to the public. * The

oracle and archaeological site with

amphitheatre An amphitheatre (British English) or amphitheater (American English; both ) is an open-air venue used for entertainment, performances, and sports. The term derives from the ancient Greek ('), from ('), meaning "on both sides" or "around" and ...

. * The

Vikos–Aoös National Park The Vikos–Aoös National Park ( el, Εθνικός Δρυμός Βίκου–Αώου ''Ethnikós Drymós Víkou–Aóou'') is a national park in the region of Epirus in northwestern Greece. The park, founded in 1973, is one of ten national ...

, including the Vikos gorge, through which the Voidomatis river flows. * The

villages, partly in the Vikos-Aoos National Park. *

Papingo Papingo ( el, Πάπιγκο, also transcribed as Papigko, Papigo) is a former community (1919-2010) in the Ioannina regional unit, Epirus, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform (the so-called Kallikratis Law) it has become part of the ...

, one of the Zagoria villages, a ski resort that is mainly popular with Greeks, and a popular starting point for hiking and mountaineering. * Mount

, at 2,637 meters Greece's second highest mountain. *

, in winter a ski resort. * The caves of

Perama Perama ( el, Πέραμα) is a suburb of Piraeus. It is part of Athens urban area and belogs to the Piraeus regional unit. It lies on the southwest edge of the Aegaleo mountains, on the Saronic Gulf coast. It is 8 km northwest of Piraeus ...

, a few kilometres northeast of Ioannina. * The monument in Zalongo for the women of Souli. * The Kalpaki War Museum. * Bourzani Bridge, near Melissoptera. * Pavlos Vrellis Greek History Museum, the best known wax museum in Greece

Sports

Ioannina has a major football team, that is named

PAS Giannina PAS Giannina Football Club ( el, ΠΑΕ ΠΑΣ Γιάννινα 1966), or with its full name Panepirotikos Athlitikos Syllogos Giannina ( el, Πανηπειρωτικός Αθλητικός Σύλλογος Γιάννινα, ''Panepirotic Athleti ...

. There are minor sports teams throughout the prefecture: *Averoff *Dafnoula *Eleousa *Kefalovrysi *Metsovo *Mousiotitsa *Velissario

Literature

* Franz X. Bogner & Georgios Pilidis. Lake of Ioannina. 128 pages. . Ioannina 2010.

References

{{Authority control Prefectures of Greece 1915 establishments in Greece Regional units in Epirus (region)