Igoumenitsa
Igoumenitsa is a nice coastal city and capital city of the prefecture of Thesprotia with 7.000 habitants. It is at distance of 480 km. from Athens and 470 km. from Thessaloniki. Its huge port is fully protected and it is an intechange of connection with other ports of Greece as well as of Adriatic. It is an important seagate for the country, to Europe.
Igoumenitsa is connected with the rest Greece and not only, through Preveza and Ioannina. It is a transportation centre and is developing continuously. It will be more developed after the completion of Egnatia Highway, the road that connectes Epirus with Thrace, based on the ancient Egnatia Highway of the Romans.
Igoumenitsa owes its name, according to the tradition, to an abbot of a monastery of the region. Thucydides names its port “Erimos port”. During the Fisrt Balkan War Igoumenitsa was liberated by the Turks (1913).
Until the year of 1936, when became the capital city of the prefecture of Thesprotia, Igoumenitsa was a little seaside village. In 1944 it was totally destroyed by the German army that left the country and it was rebuilt. At the decade of 1960 the port was constructed and connected to Italy by boat. This was the motivation power for the development of the city.
The beauty of the city, the combination of the mountain and the sea excite every visitor of the region. The large beaches of Drepano and Makrygialos, of 7 km. length, are a place of relaxation for the habitants and the tourists at their crystal clear water.
