Voutsaras, Ioannina

Voutsaras (Βουτσαράς, local dialect: Μπτσαρά Btsará) is a village in the Ioannina Prefecture in Greece and the municipality of Molossoi in the area of Douskara. Its 2001 population was 150. The old GR-6 (Volos - Larissa - Ioannina - Igoumenitsa) runs through Voutsaras while the Via Egnatia, the new highway, runs further south without any interchange.

Nearest places

 * Kalochori, east
 * Koutsara, east
 * Polydoro, southwest
 * Gkribovo or Gribovo, west
 * Vyrssoula, west
 * Eklissochori, north

Location
Voutsaras is located 35 km west of Ioannina, northwest of Arta, north of Preveza and east of Igoumenitsa.

Geography and information
Much of the area around Voutsaras is mountainous and forested. The Thyamis River flows 3 km to the north.

History
After World War II and the Greek Civil War, its buildings were rebuilt. Emigration occurred at a higher rate until 1991; the population declined slowly between 1991 and 2001. Chinka became connected with asphalt in the 1970s. Electricity, radio and automobiles were introduced in the middle of the 20th century, television in the late 20th century and computer and internet at the turn of the millennium. In the late 1990s, the ex-community (now a municipal district) joined to become the newly formed municipality of Molossoi.