Vovousa is a village and a former community in the Ioannina regional unit, Epirus

Epirus (region)

Epirus is a geographical and historical region in southeastern Europe, shared between Greece and Albania. It lies between the Pindus Mountains and the Ionian Sea, stretching from the Bay of Vlorë in the north to the Ambracian Gulf in the south...

, Greece

Greece

Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....

. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Zagori

Zagori

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 1,000 square kilometres and contains 45 villages known as Zagoria , and is in the shape of an upturned equilateral...

, of which it is a municipal unit. It is one of the original Zagori

Zagori

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 1,000 square kilometres and contains 45 villages known as Zagoria , and is in the shape of an upturned equilateral...

 villages. Population 179 (2001). The name possibly derives from "Voiousa" or "Vovousa" (alternative names for the Aoos river) related to the Greek word "vous" for "bull".

Geography

Vovousa is located on the river Aoos and is one of the easternmost villages of Zagori

Zagori

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 1,000 square kilometres and contains 45 villages known as Zagoria , and is in the shape of an upturned equilateral...

. It is also located near the National Park of Valia Kalda. The single-arched stone bridge of Misios was built in 1748 with a donation by Alexis Mitsios from Vitsa

Vitsa

Vitsa is one of the largest villages of central Zagori. 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 old double-arched bridge of Missios.-History:...

.

History

Vovousa was considered among the largest villages in Zagori. After the submission of Zagori to the Turks in 1821, following the fall of Ali Pasha

Ali Pasha

Ali Pasha of Tepelena or of Yannina, surnamed Aslan, "the Lion", or the "Lion of Yannina", Ali Pashë Tepelena was an Ottoman Albanian ruler of the western part of Rumelia, the Ottoman Empire's European territory which was also called Pashalik of Yanina. His court was in Ioannina...

 and the Greek War of Independence

Greek War of Independence

The Greek War of Independence, also known as the Greek Revolution was a successful war of independence waged by the Greek revolutionaries between...

 Vovousa became impoverished due to Albanian raids and was nearly deserted. Most of its inhabitants moved in the 19th century to the vicinity of Serres

Serres

Serres is a city in Greece, seat of the Serres prefecture.Serres may also refer to:Places:* Serres, Germany, a part of Wiernsheim in Baden-WürttembergIn France:* Serres, Aude in the Aude département...

 in Macedonia

Macedonia (Greece)

Macedonia is a geographical and historical region of Greece in Southern Europe. Macedonia is the largest and second most populous Greek region...

. The village was burnt by the Germans on the 23rd October 1943.