Holy Monastery of Votsas

The Holy Monastery of Votsas was founded in 672 AD by Constantine IV Pogonatos, Emperor of Constantinople. It is dedicated to the Dormition of the Mother of God and celebrates its feast on 23 August, on the leave-taking of the Dormition. It is surrounded by dozens of stremmata of vineyards, traditionally cultivated by the monks, and on its western side it is washed by the river Vardas.

In its history of more than a thousand years it suffered three destructions: in 1430 by the Turks, in 1943 by the Germans, and in 1993. In 1995 it was re-founded and renovated. In 2017 the production of the monastic Imperator wines began, drawing on the tradition of the Monastery, which had already been making wine since the years of Ottoman rule.