Bizani () is a village and a former municipality in the
Ioannina regional unit,
Epirus
Epirus () is a Region#Geographical regions, geographical and historical region, historical region in southeastern Europe, now shared between Greece and Albania. It lies between the Pindus Mountains and the Ionian Sea, stretching from the Bay ...
,
Greece
Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...
. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality
Ioannina
Ioannina ( ' ), often called Yannena ( ' ) within Greece, is the capital and largest city of the Ioannina (regional unit), Ioannina regional unit and of Epirus (region), Epirus, an Modern regions of Greece, administrative region in northwester ...
, of which it is a municipal unit.
The municipal unit has an area of 91.372 km
2, the community 11.660 km
2.
In 2021 its population was 4,387. The seat of the municipality was in
Pedini. The municipal unit is situated in the plains and low hills south and southwest of Ioannina. The
Greek National Road 5 (Ioannina -
Arta), the
Greek National Road 17 (Ioannina -
Dodoni) and the
A2 Egnatia Odos motorway (
Igoumenitsa
Igoumenitsa () is a coastal city in northwestern Greece. It is the capital of the regional unit of Thesprotia.
Igoumenitsa is the chief port of Thesprotia and Epirus, and one of the largest passenger ports of Greece, connecting northwestern Main ...
- Ioannina -
Thessaloniki
Thessaloniki (; ), also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, Salonika, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece (with slightly over one million inhabitants in its Thessaloniki metropolitan area, metropolitan area) and the capital cit ...
) pass through the municipal unit.
Subdivisions
The municipalunit Bizani is subdivided into the following communities (constituent villages in brackets):
*
Ampeleia (Ampeleia, Filothei)
*Bizani (Neo Bizani, Koloniati)
*
Asvestochori
*
Kontsika (Kontsika, Synoikismos Kontsikas)
*
Kosmira
*
Manoliasa
*
Pedini (Pedini, Fteri, Chioniasa)
Population
History
The village and former municipality, gets its name from the nearby fort built by the Ottoman Empire which in turn may have been inspired by the nearby mountain range. Fort Bezhani, as referenced by some groups like the US Congress Committee on Military Affairs, is known in Greek as "Bizani" (also Fort Bijan
) was the location of the
Battle of Bizani that took place in February 1913 as part of 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 ...
as the last stronghold for
Ioannina
Ioannina ( ' ), often called Yannena ( ' ) within Greece, is the capital and largest city of the Ioannina (regional unit), Ioannina regional unit and of Epirus (region), Epirus, an Modern regions of Greece, administrative region in northwester ...
and the remainder of Epirus before ending almost five centuries of Ottoman Turkish rule.
See also
*
List of settlements in the Ioannina regional unit
This is a list of settlements in the Ioannina (regional unit), Ioannina regional unit, Greece.
* Achladies
* Aetomilitsa
* Aetopetra, Konitsa
* Aetopetra, Zitsa
* Aetorrachi, Ioannina, Aetorrachi
* Agia Anastasia
* Agia Marina, Ioannina, Agia Mar ...
References
Populated places in Ioannina (regional unit)
Ioannina
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