ΕλληνικάThe history of Parga
Parga was known in ancient times as a parageios, parageia and ipargos from which came the current name. Parga was a possession of Normans, who built the first fort in 14th century and also took this area the Venetians, French, British and Turks. In years of Venetian rule had significant benefits, experienced an economic boom and was a bridge between Turkish-occupied Greece and Venice.
In Parga and Preveza had operated Olive Oil Factory and Soap Factory. In same period, developed a significant educational movement with pioneers renowned teachers, such as Monk Filotheos, Anastasios Mospiniotis, Andreas Idromenos and Christopher Peraikos, Agapios Leonardos, etc. During the Turkish occupation, many Orthodox Christian Souliotes passing through Parga to Ionian islands.
In 1797 this area, along with the Ionian Islands and Parga, fell into the hands of French, and in 1800, proclaimed free city status with broad authority under the protection of the Sublime Porte. In 1815, with the fortunes of the French failing, the citizens of Parga revolted against French rule and sought protection of the British.
In 1817, following a treaty between Britain and the Ottoman Empire, the British granted Parga to the Ottomans.
This resulted in the Good Friday of 1819 where 4,000 Pargians, having with them the ashes of the bones of their ancestors, their sacred images, flags and a handful of soil from their homeland, exiled themselves in the British protecturate of Corfu where they settled. The former citizens of Parga never ceased to dream of returning to a free country and to participate actively in the struggle for liberation. But they had to wait almost 100 years for this. Parga and the rest of Epirus was liberated from the Ottoman rule on 1913 following the victory of Greece in the Balkan Wars.
During the Greek Revolution in Parga
From the port of Parga equiped the Men (Souliotes) with food and ammunition for their struggle against the ottomans. The castle of Parga took refuge when forced temporarily to abandon Souli. In Parga fled after the fall of Souli, and from there, uprooted along with the Pargians, when the English governor of the Ionian islands Thomas Maitland sold Parga to Ali Pash
With the treaty of Paris in 5 November 1815 and the restoration of peace in Europe, the Ionian islands were the autonomous Ion state under the exclusive protection of Great Britain and renamed as United State of the Ionian Islands. The Pargians who were in close relationship with the Ionian islands no longer were they under the domination of England. England and specifically Thomas Maitland who had come as captain of the Great Britain in the region after the liberation of Corfu in 1814, wanting to strengthen Ali Pasha, and in this way to reduce the influence of the Russians in this area, decided to sell Parga to Ali Pasha, who for years has laid siege, and could not conquer.
Even this uprooting didn’t deter Pargians and Souliotes who continued to offer their valuable services to the Greek revolution with some of them, such as Markos Mpotsaris and Kitsos Tzavelas to emerge as national Greek Heroes . In 1913, Parga is part of the new Greek Republic. Many Pargians return after the release, on 23 February 1913.