English
Built at the exit of the Aoos’ gorge, this impressive single-arched bridge was used in the past to connect the area of Konitsa to Ioannina and Zagori. The cost of its building reached the amount of 120.000 piasters (old Turkish currency). The bridge is 20 m high and its arch is 35 m long, therefore it stands imposing above the Aoos river, indisputable witness to the technique and experience of old craftsmen. Under the arch of the bridge it still exists a small bell that warned the passers-by when strong winds made the crossing dangerous. During the building of the bridge in 1871 the foreman was the famous Ziogas Frontzos from Pyrsogianni. His skills caused the surprise of the Turkish engineers who requested to meet the foreman and to be informed on his studies so as to receive the following answer: “I studied in the polytechnic institution of Krapa in Pyrsogianni, a quarry outside the village where young craftsmen were taught the secrets of this art.” The bridge has been at risk many times. In 1918 the Turkish army has attempted to burn it down without result while, during the Greco-Italian war and the civil war that followed, there have been attempts to blow it up.
