King George I visited Arta in September 1881, as part of a tour of the newly acquired territories. On the 17th, at 9am, he came to the bridge and inspected a company of Ottoman soldiers that stood on the bridge to honour the king of Greece. George awarded the Ottoman commander the Gold Cross of the Order of the Redeemer, the oldest and highest decoration awarded by the Greek state. Then he carved his name on the bark of the gigantic plane tree and joined six army officers who formed a human chain around the tree.