Monodendri () is a village 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 ...

region) in

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 ...

. It is part of the municipal unit of Central Zagori in the

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 ...

region, and is located north of the city of

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 ...

. Monodendri is built at a height of and retains much of the traditional stone-built architecture.

History

The name "Monodendri" (meaning "lonely tree" or "single tree") came into use only in the beginning of the 19th century. Its origin is in a very large tree, whose remains still existed in 1910. The village was previously considered a neighbourhood of

Vitsa Vitsa () is one of the largest villages of the central Zagori region, in northwestern Greece. It is situated at an altitude of 955m on a mountain slope near the Vikos gorge with roads linking it to Greek National Road 6. Vitsa is famous for its o ...

.A. Kathareios (Inspector of the 1st educational region of Epirus) ''Report of Inspection of Zagorochoria in 1913'' As with the other

villages, Monodendri enjoyed an extended period of commercial and economic prosperity during the 17th and 18th centuries. There were schools built, churches in the

Byzantine style Byzantine architecture is the architecture of the Byzantine Empire, or Eastern Roman Empire, usually dated from 330 AD, when Constantine the Great established a new Roman capital in Byzantium, which became Constantinople, until the fall of the ...

and luxurious stone manors (). The first school, the Scholarcheion, was`founded in 1750. In the school taught among others Paparousis, who later in 1814 taught in the Academy of Bucharest and in

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

, where he published an article on

Physical Science Physical science is a branch of natural science that studies non-living systems, in contrast to life science. It in turn has many branches, each referred to as a "physical science", together is called the "physical sciences". Definition ...

in Logios Hermes (Hermes ho Logios). In the Scholarcheion also taught the renowned Neophytos Dotos (1814–18) and Anastasios Sakellarios from 1825 to 1830, when he left to direct the new

Zosimaia School The Zosimaia School () is a Greek middle-level educational institution of Ioannina (in Epirus). It was significant during the last period of Ottoman rule in the region (1828–1913). The ''Zosimaia'' was founded at 1828 through the personal expen ...

. The school is said to have had also some distinguished students, among them

Georgios Gennadios Georgios Gennadios (; 1784–1854) was a Greek man of letters who was instrumental in the founding of some of the first educational establishments of modern Greece, considered among the most important personalities of the Modern Greek Enlighten ...

and the revolutionary leader

Markos Botsaris Markos Botsaris (; 1790 – 21 August 1823) was a Souliot chieftain, general of the Greek revolutionary army and hero of the Greek War of Independence.Brigands with a Cause, Brigandage and Irredentism in Modern Greece 1821–1912, by John ...

from

Souli Souli () is a municipality in Epirus, northwestern Greece. The seat of the municipality is the town of Paramythia. Name and history The origin of the name Souli is uncertain. In the earliest historical text about Souli, written by Christoforos ...

. Monodendri was the birthplace of the merchants, national benefactors and brothers Manthos and Georgios Rizaris, and of

Angelos Kitsos Angelos Kitsos (; 1934 – 6 August 2008) was the president of Rizarios Foundation (Ριζάρειο Ίδρυμα).He was a Greek from Monodendri, Zagori. He was member of the Councils of the Foundation for the Restoration of Greeks from Albani ...

(former president of the Rizarios Foundation). There were three schools in Monodendri in the 19th century, a primary school (“Ellinikon” or ''Common School of Greek Studies '' (

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

: Κοινή Σχολή Ελληνικών Μαθημάτων) founded by Manthos and Georgios Rizaris in 1835 and housed in their original home), an Allelodidaktikon (high school) and a school for girls, the Parthenagogeion, also founded by the Rizaris brothers in 1841.Λαμπρίδης Ιωάννης "Ζαγοριακά", Τυπογραφείον Αυγής, Αθήνα, 1870

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. Monodendrites usually immigrated to

Macedonia Macedonia (, , , ), most commonly refers to: * North Macedonia, a country in southeastern Europe, known until 2019 as the Republic of Macedonia * Macedonia (ancient kingdom), a kingdom in Greek antiquity * Macedonia (Greece), a former administr ...

and Southern Greece. Outside Greece, they immigrated to

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

Asia Minor Anatolia (), also known as Asia Minor, is a peninsula in West Asia that makes up the majority of the land area of Turkey. It is the westernmost protrusion of Asia and is geographically bounded by the Mediterranean Sea to the south, the Aegean ...

, Africa and the United States.

Architecture

The church of Aghios Athanasios, in the middle of the central square, is of significant historical value. The bequests of the Rizari brothers are visible in the village today, and include the Rizarios Exhibition Center, the Rizarios Handicraft School and the primary school. The amphitheatrically built stone theater, in the village end, is used for cultural festivals during the summer months. The monastery of St Elias dates from the period of the foundation of Monodendri at the turn of the 15th century. From the same time dates also the church of

St George Saint George (;Geʽez: ጊዮርጊስ, , ka, გიორგი, , , died 23 April 303), also George of Lydda, was an early Christian martyr who is venerated as a saint in Christianity. According to holy tradition, he was a soldier in the R ...

(Agios Georgios).

and

were during their childhood students at the monastery of St Elias. Near the village lies the historic monastery of

Agia Paraskevi Agia Paraskevi (, ''Agía Paraskeví'') is a suburb and a municipality in the northeastern part of the Athens agglomeration, Greece. It is part of the North Athens regional unit. Agia Paraskevi was named after the main church of the town, which ...

, built on the edge of the

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 ...

. The monastery was founded in 1412 by Michael Voevodas Therianos and the people of

, as stated on an inscription, during the reign of

Carlo I Tocco Carlo I Tocco was the hereditary Count Palatine of Cephalonia and Zakynthos from 1376, and ruled as the Despot of Epirus from 1411 until his death on July 4, 1429. Life Carlo I was the son of Count Leonardo I Tocco of Cephalonia and Leukas by M ...

. It was a property of the monastery of St Elias but was refounded as a nunnery in 1778. The panoramic view from the monastery is spectacular. Because of its scenery and traditional architecture Monodendri attracts some tourism, especially during the

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a Religion, religious and Culture, cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by coun ...

period.

Notable Monodendrites

*The national benefactors Manthos and Georgios Rizaris, founders of the Rizareios Foundation in

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

in 1841 and of the ''Rizareios Ecclesiastical School'' in 1844, while Monodendri was still under Ottoman rule. *Ioannis Koniaris, mayor of

in the 19th century. *Dimitrios Semitelos (1828–1898), scholar. *

Anastasios Tagis Anastasios Tagis (, 1839–1900) was a Greek scholar and philological teacher of the 19th century. Biography Tagis was born in Monodendri of Ioannina (then part of the Ottoman Empire) in 1839.Vikos–Aoös National Park The Vikos–Aoös National Park ( ''Ethnikós Drymós Víkou–Aóou'') is a national park in the region of Epirus (region), Epirus in northwestern Greece. The park, founded in 1973, is one of ten National parks of Greece, national parks in main ...

Bibliography

References

External links

Prefecture of Ioannina. Tourist department of Greece
{{Zagori div Populated places in Ioannina (regional unit) Zagori