Zitsa

Zitsa municipality Δήμος Ζίτσας (Ζίτσα)
Basic data
State :	Greece
Region :	Epirus
Regional District :	Ioannina
Geographic coordinates :	39 ° 45 ′  N , 20 ° 39 ′  E Coordinates: 39 ° 45 ′  N , 20 ° 39 ′  E
Area :	566.28 km²
Residents :	14,766 (2011)
Population density :	26.1 inhabitants / km²
Post Code:	44003
Prefix:	(+30) 26580
Seat:	Eleousa
LAU-1 code no .:	1805
Districts :	5 municipal districts
Local self-government :	1 city district 56 local communities
Location in the Epirus region

Zitsa ( Greek Ζίτσα ( f. Sg. )) Is a municipality in the regional district of Ioannina in northwestern Epirus , 22 kilometers northwest of the city of Ioannina (Ιωάννινα). The municipality is named after the village of the same name with 1014 inhabitants in 2001. The area is known as the center of a Greek wine-growing region that has had the status of an OPAP ( Onomasia Prolefseos Piotitos Ονομασία προελευσέως ποιοτήτας) since 1971 and is protected as a designation of origin throughout Europe.

Zitsa was considerably enlarged by the incorporation of four neighboring communities in 2011, the administrative headquarters were moved from Zitsa to Eleousa.

Geography, geology and climate

geography

The area of ​​the municipality of Zitsa is located in the north-west of mainland Greece in the middle of the main ridge of the Pindos Mountains. The municipality is characterized in its west by the middle course of the Kalamas (Thyamis), which enters the municipality of Zitsa from the north and leaves it again to the southwest. Several tributaries flow to it in the municipality to the south (left), including the Smolitsas and the Thyria .

The municipality of Zitsa is bordered (clockwise, starting in the north) by the municipalities of Pogoni , Zagori , Ioannina , Dodoni , Souli and Filiates .

In relation to the village of Zitsa, the distance to larger cities such as Ioannina in the south-east is 22 km, to Igoumenitsa in the south-west 116 km, to Arta in the south-east 97 km, to Kozani in the north-west 249 km, to Thessaloniki in the north-west 391 km and to Athens in the south-east 460 km. The distance to the Kakavia border crossing to Albania is approx. 50 km.

geology

The municipality of Zitsa lies on a flysch zone , which stretches from the source of the Kalamas via Zitsa to the south in the direction of Dodoni .

history

The village of Zitsa was founded at the end of the 14th century by people who wanted to partially or completely evade Ottoman rule by moving out of the plains and cities. In the 18th century, Zitsa flourished economically like the towns of Kastoria, Naoussa, Siatista, Kozani and Veria. The main drivers of this upswing were Aromano-Wallachian merchant families. Saint Cosmas the Aetolians visited the Profitis Ilias monastery in Zitsa in 1764. During his visit, he initiated the establishment of a secret Greek school (Daskalio), which existed until the middle of the 19th century. In 1858 a primary school was established with funds from two monasteries. Another separate school for girls and young women followed in 1872. In 1809 Lord Byron visited the Profitis Ilias monastery in Zitsa for 2 days and tasted the sparkling wine from Zitsa. In literary terms, Lord Byron processed his stay in Zitsa and the landscape of Zitsa (especially the valley of the Kalamas) in his work Childe Harold's Pilgrimage , Cantos 1–2 from 1812.

In the course of the First Balkan War from October 1912 to May 1913, Zitsa and the rest of Epirus (corresponding to today's Greek region) were captured by Greek troops. In the Peace of Bucharest in 1913 and the subsequent protocol negotiations, Zitsa was recognized under international law as part of the modern Greek state.

In the Second World War , which began for Greece with the Italian attack from Albania on October 28, 1940, Zitsa was occupied by Italian troops from May 1941 after the Greek defeat as a result of the intervention of the Wehrmacht ( company Marita ; from April 6, 1941). In September 1943, the Italian occupation ended with the conversion of Italy from the Axis powers to the Allies; German troops occupied Zitsa until they withdrew at the end of October 1944.

During the Greek Civil War from March 1946 to September 1949, Zitsa was the scene of several fighting between the communist-dominated Democratic Army of Greece (DSE) and the right-wing government troops. Even before the civil war broke out, armed rebels attacked Zitsa on November 28, 1945. On May 26, 1945, the member of the DSE Georgios Gatzios, a baker from Zitsa, delivered one of the first indications of the support of the DSE by Albania. A few days earlier, the Greek National Guard had entered Zitsa as the military representative of the Athens central government and questioned suspected DSE members and supporters. In October 1947 units of the DSE attacked Zitsa but were unable to conquer it. In January 1949, the Greek Air Force launched attacks against DSE forces in the Zitsa area. Former Greek Prime Minister Georgios Rallis volunteered on the side of government forces in the Zitsa region during the civil war.

population

The population of the village of Zitsa developed as follows from 1805 to 1981:

year	1805	1814	1846	1855	1882	1887	1902	1913	1920	1928	1940	1951	1961	1971	1981
Residents	550	750	500	650	1,506	1,148	1,093	1,220	1,289	1,332	965	951	966 / 1.015	792	1.014

Economy, infrastructure and transport

economy

The Zitsa (pink) and Metsovo (red) wine-growing regions

The main economic pillar of the town and municipality of Zitsa as a whole is viticulture. In addition to the wine-growing region of Metsovo further east, Zitsa is the only wine-growing region in the Epirus administrative region with a protected designation of origin in EU countries as well as in Switzerland. Shortly after the settlement was founded, the residents of Zitsa began to cultivate wine. Wines from Zitsa reached Constantinople , the capital of the Ottoman Empire , in the 17th century . The first winery in the municipality was established shortly after the Second World War in 1950. In 1972 the cooperative winery, which is still in existence today, was founded. In 1978 the second winery in the growing area was put into operation next to the Profitis Ilias monastery.

The vineyards of the Zitsa wine-growing region cover around 400 hectares, which are spread over six villages, all north-west of Ioannina. The vineyards lie between 600 and 700 meters above sea level on calcareous, barren soils. The region is mainly planted with the autochthonous white wine grape Debina , along with other old Greek vines such as the red Bekari and Vlachiko . The Debina vine is grown in a cultivation area of ​​7,500 stremmas .

The most famous wine in the region is a dry, extremely fresh and fruity white wine made from the Debina. A typical Zitsa can mousse slightly and has an intense apple aroma. The Zitsa is seldom matured semi-dry . The region is also known for its pink sparkling wines made from Debina and various red vines. However, these regionally popular products are not OPAP rated.

After the Second World War and in the 1960s after the cultivation area was infected with a plant disease, additional, higher-lying cultivation areas were opened up that had previously been owned by monasteries in the municipality.

Infrastructure

Zitsa has a primary school and a secondary school (Gymnasio) in the main town of the same name. Zitsa also has a public library with 3,000 books as well as an art gallery with pictures by Greek painters, especially Kostas Malamas.

traffic

The municipality of Zitsa is connected to the national road network of Greece via provincial roads (Eparchiaki Odos). There is no national road in the municipality of Zitsa itself. To the east of the municipality, along the longitudinal axis of the Ioannina plateau, national road 20 (European route 853) runs from Ioannina via Eleousa, Karyes to Kalpaki. From Kalpaki, the national road 20 leads via Konitsa along the valley of the Sarandaporos river to Neapoli and thus provides a road connection to Western Macedonia (Kastoria, Florina) and via Kozani to Central Macedonia with Thessaloniki. At Kalpaki the national road 22 leads to the Albanian border. The national roads are reached by provincial roads leading eastwards via Karyes and Eleousa and provincial roads leading north via Kalpaki and Parakalamos. The traffic connection to the west is worse compared to the one to the east and north: in the municipal area only a road bridge crosses the Kalamas river, which leads the road (Provincial Road 14) from Zitsa to Lithino and further west to the villages of Riachovo, Kastri and Raiko. A connection to the national road 6 (European route 92) from Ioannina (Eleousa) to Igoumenitsa will be realized further south of the municipality via the road via Lithino and Raiko (municipality Evrymenes) . Zitsa does not have a direct connection to the growing Greek motorway network. The next connection option is the Ioannina and Pedini junctions on Autobahn 2 south of Ioannina.

Zitsa does not have a railway connection; there is also no railway connection within a radius of more than 100 km (the closest train stations would be Kozani or Kalambaka). The nearest international airport is Ioannina Airport, approx. 15 km away in the south-east, through which, however, only a very limited number of destinations are available. The nearest major international airport would be Thessaloniki Airport, over 390 km away.

Culture, personalities and sights

Personalities

• Kostas Malamas (* 1913, Alexandria (Egypt)). Greek painter, spent his childhood and youth in Zitsa until 1931.
• Dimitrios Nikolidis "Zitseos" or "Zitsaios" (* 1766, Zitsa). Doctor and resistance fighter. Studied medicine in Stuttgart, with the friends of Hegel, Hölderlin and Schilling. Friend of Rigas Velestinlis .

Attractions

• Theogefyro. A natural rock bridge over the Kalamas River between Melissi and Lithino.
• Pateron Monastery (dedicated to the Dormition of Mary; Kimis tis Theotokou). Built in the 16th century, Greek Orthodox monastery. 5 km west of Zitsa near the village of Lithino.
• Profitis Ilias Monastery. Built in the 16th century, Greek Orthodox monastery. Located near the village of Zitsa.

literature

• Horst Dippel (ed.): The wine lexicon . Fischer-Taschenbuch-Verl., Frankfurt am Main 1989, ISBN 3-596-24501-X
• Information on the history of the schools in Zitsa (in Greek). (PDF; 1.24 MB)
• Epirus / Thessaly. 1: 250,000. Road Editions, Athens. ISBN 960-8481-17-1 .
• Topo50 Epirus. Zagori. 1: 50,000. Anavasi, Athens. ISBN 960-8195-23-3 .

Web links

• The current weather in Zitsa (in Greek).
• A travel report by the Greek TV station SKAI (SKY) about Zitsa and the Theogefyra (with picture, in Greek).
• Photo of Debina grape vines near Zitsa.
• Photo of the village of Zitsa.
• An interior view of a monastery church in Zitsa with frescoes.
• Another interior view of a monastery church in Zitsa with frescoes.
• Interior view of the dome of a monastery church in Zitsa.
• Image of the natural stone bridge Theogefyra near Lithino.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Results of the 2011 census at the National Statistical Service of Greece (ΕΛ.ΣΤΑΤ) ( Memento from June 27, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) (Excel document, 2.6 MB)
2. ↑ List of quality wines from certain growing areas (published in accordance with Article 54 (4) of Council Regulation (EC) No. 1493/1999) - Official Journal No. C 106 of 10/05/2007 p. 0001 - 0073 of the EU (in German).
3. ↑ Agreement between the Swiss Confederation and the European Community on trade in agricultural products. Completed on June 21, 1999 (in German) (PDF; 1.1 MB)
4. ^ Alfred Philippson. The Greek Landscapes. A geography by Alfred Philippson. Volume I part III. Epirus and the Pindus. Vittorio Klostermann Verlag, Frankfurt am Main, 1958. pp. 28 and 87.
5. ↑ Michael Weithmann. Greece. From the early Middle Ages to the present. Publisher Friederich Pustet, Regensburg. ISBN 3-7917-1425-2 . P. 129.
6. ↑ ^{a b} Uwe Jens Wandel. Three Greeks in Stuttgart 1791. In: Alfred Noe (ed.). Philhellenism in Western European Literature 1730–1830. Rodopi Verlag, Amsterdam, Atlanta; 1994. ISBN 90-5183-702-X . P. 78.
7. ↑ Photo of the plaque at the Profitis Ilias monastery in Zitsa to commemorate the visit of Lord Byron in 1809.
8. ↑ Richard Sterling, Kate Reeves, Georgia Dacakis. Greece. Lonely Planet, 2002. ISBN 1864501138 . P. 97.
9. ↑ Philip Deane. The Land and Isles of Greece: The complete vacation guide for all budgets. Doubleday, 1966. p. 1.
10. ^ Royal Institute of International Affairs. Chronology of International Events 1945. Royal Institute of International Affairs, 1956. p. 698
11. ↑ Owen Pearson. Albania in the Twentieth Century: A History. Volume Two. IB Tauris, 2006. ISBN 1845111044 . P. 441.
12. ↑ Christopher Montague Woodhouse. The Struggle for Greece, 1941-1949. Hart-Davis, MacGibbon, 1976. Reprint, C. Hurst & Co. Publishers, 2002. ISBN 1-85065-487-5 . P. 210
13. ^ Page no longer available , search in web archives: Newspaper article of the Greek newspaper Eleftheria from January 29, 1949, page 4, column center.
14. ↑ Critical obituary for Georgios Rallis ( Memento from September 11, 2013 in the Internet Archive )
15. ↑ ^{a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o} John Robert McNeill. The Mountains of the Mediterranean World: An Environmental History. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1992. ISBN 0521522889 . P. 166
16. ^ Information from the Greek Travel Pages (GTP) after the 1981 census.
17. ↑ Newspaper article of the Greek daily Kathimerini about the wines from the Debina vine (in Greek). ( Memento from February 17, 2013 in the web archive archive.today )