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

Zagori Zagori (; ), is a region, a municipality, and a designated UNESCO World Heritage Site, 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 v ...

. It belongs to 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, in northwestern Greece. It is part of the regional units of Greece, ...

, 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 The Vikos Gorge or Vikos Canyon () is a gorge in the Pindus Mountains of northwestern Greece. It lies on the southern slopes of Mount Tymphe with a length of about 32 km, depth ranging from 120 to 1350 m, and a width ranging from 2500 m to ...

History and culture

Kipoi was once the centre of Zagori. After the

Balkan Wars The Balkan Wars were two conflicts that took place in the Balkans, Balkan states in 1912 and 1913. In the First Balkan War, the four Balkan states of Kingdom of Greece (Glücksburg), Greece, Kingdom of Serbia, Serbia, Kingdom of Montenegro, M ...

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. 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 are an ethnic group native to the Balkan Peninsula who share a common Albanian ancestry, Albanian culture, culture, Albanian history, history and Albanian language, language. They are the main ethnic group of Albania and Kosovo, ...

, locally called "Arvanites", have settled the village after the 15th century, later assimilating into the local population.

Sarakatsani The Sarakatsani (), also called Karakachani (), are an ethnic Greeks, Greek population subgroup who were traditionally Transhumance, transhumant shepherds, native to Greece, with a smaller presence in neighbouring Bulgaria, southern Albania, an ...

have settled at the beginning of the 20th century. Today, the museum of the famous collector Agapios Tolis is located in Kipoi, where more than 40.000 exhibits are included.Folklore Museum of Kipoi
Golden Greece

Bibliography

References

External links

Information about Kipoi. {{Zagori div Populated places in Ioannina (regional unit) Zagori