​​“Paul Vrellis” Greek History Museum​

The museum is located close to the Fort of Bizani using local materials for its construction. 

The founder of the Museum, Pavlos Vrellis, was born and raised in the historical city of Ioannina. He was arrested as a young child by the Nazis during the Germanoccupation of Greece in World War II and was forced, together with other children, to clean the remains of war material that had not been exploded. After the war, he studied at the School of Fine Arts. These facts inspired him to capture the major events in modern Greek history through art. 

The scenes related to World War II are presented as a timeline: Memories of the Greco-Italian War (October 1940 – April 1941) which took place on the mountains of Epirus; the headquarters of the Greek Army in Ioannina; the contribution of Greek women at the frontline; an observation post with a mountain artillery and a mountainous surgeon unit; the "Battle of the Forts" at the Greek-Bulgarian borders against the German forces (April 1941); the "Battle of Crete" in May 1941, and the Jewish Holocaust with a reference to the 1850 Romaniote Jews from Ioannina that were deported to Auschwitz-Birkenau. 

According to the artist himself, the “Paul Vrellis” Greek History Museum “keeps the sacred memory of all the historic figures and events”.