The association is trying to repair the two stone bridges at the Panagia Gorge, which joins the river Megdova.
History
Paparousi is one of the oldest villages of Evritania. Proofs of its prosperity in the past years are the relics of the characteristic old manors, which during the Turkish occupation were named Politohoria. It seems that the two beautiful stone bridges in the Panagia Gorge, which join the river Megdova come from this historic period. One of the two bridges is located at the road from Bagasaki to the village and the other one from the road to the Paliohoria estates, where as it seems the old village was located. They are samples of the old ways of bridge construction and are of technical and aesthetical interest.
Their age cannot be estimated from verbal traditions. That means that they were not built within the last 150 years, as there would have been some recollection of their construction, therefore, they must be older than 200 or 300 years. Only the specialists can find the answer by studying the techniques of their construction.
The second question is who built them. Such bridges are costly and only a few villages could afford the construction of solid stone bridges. The government could have built them, but then large vehicular axis would have been cut, a fact that is not justified by the trail of the roads and the geographical position of our village. Therefore, locals must have built them to facilitate the village. Such charities remain in history and advert their proprietors or constructors, for example, the Manolis Bridge. In this case, nobody remembers the two bridges having a name. Therefore, they must be very old and their proprietors forgotten.
The arch opening at the base of the bridge near the "Koukia" fount is 5 meters; maximum height from the base to the top of the stringer 5 meters and width of the surface is 1,06 meters. The arch opening at the base of the bridge on the road from Bagasaki to Paparousi is 4,20 meters; the height of the arch of the stringer is 2,60 meters and width 1,06 meters.
Course of the project
A request was submitted at the Karpenisi Municipality on November 11, 2006, for the reconstruction of the two traditional bridges of the village. During discussions with the town counselor, Vangelis Karfis, who is involved in the EU financing programs, he said that the bridges can be included to the projects to be financed by EU funds. The only precondition is to photograph them and a written history summary of the monuments.
We were not able to collect much information from our fellow-villagers other than the fact that they are very old, maybe more than 500 years old. We ask that anyone who has information about our bridges to send it to us so we can complete their summary.
It will be a pity and an unforgivable mistake from our part if we neglect their care. Stones have been detached from their body and there are doubts as to their future. In fact, the bridge in the area "Koukia" is used daily and must not fall apart, therefore to be forced to find other ways to travel back and forth to the fields.
Winter 2008: The old tree that threatenned the existense of the bridge at Panagia has been cut after the intervention of the Association.
It was decided to request assistance from the Ministry of Culture. They suggested the 24th Ephorate Antiquities in Lamia. They gave us instructions for preparing the dossier with information on the bridges and photos. The dossier was prepared and delivered to the Ephorate on February 16, 2009. Seeking greater involvement in caring for these monuments, we attended a meeting of the Evrytania Museum Center and asked them to take care of the bridges. We were told that the bridges are not subject to the Evrytania Museum Center.
We met the parliament member of Evrytania. At our meeting with him, we exposed the problem and asked for his help on the protection of the traditional bridges. His secretary, Mr. George Sofronis, contacted the Ephorate of Lamia. The Ephorate of Byzantine Antiquities of Lamia sent the dossier to the Office of Modern Monuments in Volos. We wait for their autopsy.
