Description of the attraction
Belensky Bridge is a monument of Bulgarian architecture, one of the outstanding buildings in the country. The author of the architectural project was Nikola Fichev, who built the bridge in the period from 1865 to 1867 on the initiative of Midhat Pasha. The bridge crosses the Yantra River, which flows near the town of Byala, Ruse region.
The length of this ancient vaulted bridge is 276 meters, and its width reaches 9 meters. The vaults of the bridge are richly decorated with luxurious reliefs depicting animal heads. Only local materials were used for their manufacture - limestone and gypsum. The movement of vehicles on the bridge is prohibited; for this purpose, a special crossing was built across the river near the Belensky bridge.
A part of the bridge was destroyed due to floods in 1897: 8 central apertures 130 meters long were destroyed. Later, this part of the bridge was restored, but, unfortunately, in complete disharmony with the original structure - in 1922-1923 the arches were reinforced with reinforced concrete structures.
On the left bank, in front of the Belensky Bridge, you can see a monument to the famous architect, on the right bank there is a white monument to the revolutionaries who attempted to cross the river in 1876, but drowned.
