The Kastritsa Monastery is one of the best known and most important monasteries in Epirus. Located on the hill of Kastritsa, 12 kilometers southeast of the city of Ioannina at an altitude of 757m with excellent view of the city and lake.
The monastery had a large property (vineyards, mills, farmland, pastures), which was ripped and plundered in the 18th century by the Turks and the Greek state in the 19th century expropriated a substantial part. In 1854 it was used as a camp by the Turks, in 1913 by the Greeks, whilst in 1916 it became an orphanage.
In 1932 the abbot Dorotheos and his brother were murdered by robbers and the monastery has been deserted until 1972, when nuns settled there until today. In the catholicon there are preserved frescoes of the 17th century. The iconostasis is carved with remarkable icons of Christ, Virgin Mary and John the Baptist. The relics of the monastery include two manuscripts with religious content dating back to the 16th and 18th centuries, and a reliquary with relics of Saint Filothei and new martyr St. George.