Katarraktis and the twin waterfalls
A Tzoumerka village with two waterfalls of 87 and 100 m, and a designated martyred village since 2017.
- Location
- About 50 km from Arta, altitude 800–850 m
- Waterfalls
- 87 and 100 m, near Kryopigi
- 1943
- 18 executed, 26–27 October
- Martyred
- Since 2017
Katarraktis, formerly Scheretsaina (until 1927), is a village in the Athamanika (Tzoumerka), about 50 km from Arta. It took its name from the nearby twin waterfalls. The altitude is 850 m in the text of the Greek Wikipedia and 800 m in the infobox.
What to see
The twin waterfalls, near the hamlet of Kryopigi at about 1,360 m, are 87 and 100 m high and are best seen in spring. The Monastery of Agia Aikaterini was built in 1730 and rebuilt in 1827, with its feast on 25 November. The Ioannis Tsamakos refuge, at 1,670 m, holds 40 people. Katafidi (2,393 m) is the highest peak of the Tzoumerka within Arta, and Kastri hill, at about 1,600 m, has views of the Ambracian Gulf and the Ioannina basin. Water mills and fulling mills still work, and are listed monuments.
History and memory
The village was annexed to Greece in 1881. Around 1819–1820, according to the source, leaders such as Katsantonis, Karaiskakis and Makriyiannis met at the monastery to prepare the Revolution. On 26–27 October 1943 German mountain troops burned houses, more than 250 according to the text, and executed 18 residents. In 2017 the village was designated a martyred village by presidential decree, the first in the Tzoumerka. Each October a commemoration is held for the 18 victims, and around 15 August a three-day festival with traditional dance.
