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Konitsa (Municipality, Greece)

Κόνιτσα

image by Tomislav Šipek, 10 January 2022

Presentation of Konitsa
Flag of Konitsa

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Presentation of Konitsa

The municipality of Konitsa (6,362 inhabitants in 2011; 95,120 ha) is located on the border with Albania, 70 km north of Ioaninna. The municipality was formed in the 2011 local government reform by the merger of the five former municipalities of Konitsa (4,632 inh., 2,942 in the town of Konitsa), Aetomilitsa (432 inh.), Distrato (278 inh.), Fourka (90 inh.), and Mastotochoria (930 inh.).

Ivan Sache, 11 January 2022

Flag of Konitsa

The logo features Konitsa's landmark, the Aoos Bridge.
The Konitsa Bridge (sometimes called the Aoos Bridge) spans the Aoos River just to the south of Konitsa. Completed in 1870, it was the work of the architect and engineer Ziogas Frontzos from Pyrsogianni, a small village some 20 miles north of Konitsa.
Despite his provincial education, he learned much of his craft in the quarry near his village, Frontzos, and nonetheless impressed the Turkish engineers who had previously tried and failed to build a bridge over the Aoos. When the Turks asked him where he had studied, he proudly told them he had studied at the University of Pyrsogianni, in the "quarry outside the village where young craftsmen were taught the secrets of this art."

The elegant single-arched bridge is 66 feet (20 m) high and 115 feet (35 m) in length, which could quite well make it the largest single arch bridge in the Balkans. It is narrow, however, just wide enough for pedestrians, livestock, and carts to pass from one side to the other.
The low walls at either side do not offer much of a barrier between pedestrians and the river below. Because of this, a bell still hangs under the arch to warn passersby of strong winds, which could make the crossing dangerous.
The fact that this pretty bridge still stands at all is no mean feat. The Turkish Army tried unsuccessfully to burn it down in 1918 and later attempts to blow it up during the Greco-Italian war and the civil war that followed also proved fruitless.

https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/konitsa-bridge
Atlas Obscura

Ivan Sache, 11 January 2022