Plaka Bridge (, ''Gefýri tis Plákas'') is a 19th-century stone one-arch bridge in

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

that collapsed during the floods of 1 February 2015, and was rebuilt in 2020. It is located at the borders of Arta and

Ioannina Ioannina ( ' ), often called Yannena ( ' ) within Greece, is the capital and largest city of the Ioannina (regional unit), Ioannina regional unit and of Epirus (region), Epirus, an Modern regions of Greece, administrative region in northwester ...

prefectures, above the waters of

Arachthos River The Arachthos () is a river in the eastern Epirus region of Greece. Its source is in the Pindus mountains, near the town Metsovo ( Ioannina regional unit). The Arachthos is long and its drainage area is . Its upper course is known as '' Metsovitik ...

. Administratively, it belongs to the community of Plaka-Raftaneon.Leftheris et al. (2006), p. 148 With its arch of width and height, it was the largest one-arch bridge in Greece and the

Balkans The Balkans ( , ), corresponding partially with the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throug ...

, and the third largest one-arch stone bridge in

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

. It also had two small auxiliary arches of width on its two sides. It was considered "one of the most difficult, single-arch bridges to construct." The bridge was the starting point for

rafting Rafting and whitewater rafting are recreational outdoor activities which use an inflatable raft to navigate a river or other body of water. This is often done on whitewater or different degrees of rough water. Dealing with risk is often a ...

and

canoeing Canoeing is an activity which involves paddling a canoe with a single-bladed paddle. In some parts of Europe, canoeing refers to both canoeing and kayaking, with a canoe being called an 'open canoe' or Canadian. A few of the recreational ...

on Arachthos River.

History

Construction

The bridge was built upon the order of

Ottoman Sultan The sultans of the Ottoman Empire (), who were all members of the Ottoman dynasty (House of Osman), ruled over the Boundaries between the continents, transcontinental empire from its perceived inception in 1299 to Dissolution of the Ottoman Em ...

Abdülaziz Abdulaziz (; ; 8 February 18304 June 1876) was the sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 25 June 1861 to 30 May 1876, when he was 1876 Ottoman coup d'état, overthrown in a government coup. He was a son of Sultan Mahmud II and succeeded his brother ...

, and was completed in 1866 under the supervision of the famous local builder Kostas Bekas () from the nearby village Pramanta. Two previous attempts by other builders in 1860 and 1863 had proven unsuccessful, with the bridge collapsing during construction (in 1863 it collapsed on the very day of its

inauguration In government and politics, inauguration is the process of swearing a person into office and thus making that person the incumbent. Such an inauguration commonly occurs through a formal ceremony or special event, which may also include an inau ...

). The cost of construction, 180,000 ''

kuruş Kuruş ( ; ), also gurush, ersh, gersh, grush, grosha, and grosi, are all names for currency denominations in and around the territories formerly part of the Ottoman Empire. The variation in the name stems from the different languages it is us ...

'', was covered by the local communities and the rich merchant Ioannis Loulis.

In operation

On 3 February 1878, during the anti-Ottoman revolt of that year, Greek troops under the command of Konstantinos Kottikas defeated the Turkish garrison of the bridge and made them retreat. Between 1881 and 1912 (the

First Balkan War The First Balkan War lasted from October 1912 to May 1913 and involved actions of the Balkan League (the Kingdoms of Kingdom of Bulgaria, Bulgaria, Kingdom of Serbia, Serbia, Kingdom of Greece, Greece and Kingdom of Montenegro, Montenegro) agai ...

), the bridge marked the

border Borders are generally defined as geography, geographical boundaries, imposed either by features such as oceans and terrain, or by polity, political entities such as governments, sovereign states, federated states, and other administrative divisio ...

between the

Kingdom of Greece The Kingdom of Greece (, Romanization, romanized: ''Vasíleion tis Elládos'', pronounced ) was the Greece, Greek Nation state, nation-state established in 1832 and was the successor state to the First Hellenic Republic. It was internationally ...

and the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

, and a customs building was erected alongside it, which still survives. Also, near the bridge there was an outpost of the Greek army and an

inn Inns are generally establishments or buildings where travelers can seek lodging, and usually, food and drink. Inns are typically located in the country or along a highway. Before the advent of motorized transportation, they also provided accomm ...

. The bridge used to be a trade route, connecting

Tzoumerka Tzoumerka () is a former municipality in the Ioannina regional unit, Epirus, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality North Tzoumerka, of which it is a municipal unit. The municipal unit has an area of 71.10&n ...

with

Epirus Epirus () is a Region#Geographical regions, geographical and historical region, historical region in southeastern Europe, now shared between Greece and Albania. It lies between the Pindus Mountains and the Ionian Sea, stretching from the Bay ...

and

Thessaly Thessaly ( ; ; ancient Aeolic Greek#Thessalian, Thessalian: , ) is a traditional geographic regions of Greece, geographic and modern administrative regions of Greece, administrative region of Greece, comprising most of the ancient Thessaly, a ...

. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, it was bombed by the

Germans Germans (, ) are the natives or inhabitants of Germany, or sometimes more broadly any people who are of German descent or native speakers of the German language. The Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany, constitution of Germany, imple ...

, but withstood the bombing with minor damage. Locals repaired it using

cement A cement is a binder, a chemical substance used for construction that sets, hardens, and adheres to other materials to bind them together. Cement is seldom used on its own, but rather to bind sand and gravel ( aggregate) together. Cement mi ...

in 1943. On 29 February 1944, during the

Axis Occupation of Greece The occupation of Greece by the Axis Powers () began in April 1941 after Nazi Germany Battle of Greece, invaded the Kingdom of Greece in order to assist its ally, Fascist Italy (1922–1943), Italy, in their Greco-Italian War, ongoing war that w ...

, the was signed near the bridge among the armed groups of the Greek Resistance, EAM,

EDES The National Republican Greek League (, ''Ethnikós Dimokratikós Ellinikós Sýndesmos'' (EDES)) was a major anti-Nazi resistance group formed during the Axis occupation of Greece during World War II. The largest of the non-communist resistanc ...

, and

EKKA The Ekka is the annual agricultural show of Queensland, Australia. Its formal title is the Royal Queensland Show, and it is held at the Brisbane Showgrounds. It was originally called the Brisbane Exhibition, but it is more commonly known as the ...

. According to the treaty, resistance groups agreed to refrain from infringing on each other's territory, and all future war efforts would be directed against the Germans. This marked the end of the "first round" of the Greek civil war, which had started on October 12, 1943. In spite of the two small relief arches, the bridge's

apex The apex is the highest point of something. The word may also refer to: Arts and media Fictional entities * Apex (comics) A-Bomb Abomination Absorbing Man Abraxas Abyss Abyss is the name of two characters appearing in Ameri ...

thickness of has been considered small by experts, causing a concentration of horizontal stresses in a region where a crack could be found.Leftheris et al. (2006), p. 149 f. During heavy rains in 2007, the bridge nearly collapsed, and a restoration was considered but not taken, raising criticism by the public.

Collapse (2015)

The bridge, which was one of the most impressive examples of Greek popular architecture, collapsed on 1 February 2015. A

flash flood A flash flood is a rapid flooding of low-lying areas: washes, rivers, dry lakes and depressions. It may be caused by heavy rain associated with a severe thunderstorm, hurricane, or tropical storm, or by meltwater from ice and snow. Flash f ...

caused by heavy rainfall caused the Arachthos River to rip the bridge's foundations from the riverbanks leading the central section of the bridge to collapse and be washed away. The next day, Alternate Minister of Infrastructure Christos Spirtzis and representatives of the Culture Ministry travelled to the region to assess the situation and announced that it was technically feasible to restore the historic bridge. Experts assessed the damage. The materials would be recovered from the river once water levels have fallen. , restoration work, supported by the

National Technical University of Athens The National (Metsovian) Technical University of Athens (NTUA; , ''National Metsovian Polytechnic''), sometimes known as Athens Polytechnic, a university in Athens, Greece. It is named in honor of its benefactors Nikolaos Stournaris, Eleni Tosi ...

, is over, and the rebuilt bridge was completed in the summer of 2020.

References

External links

* *
Γεφύρι της Πλάκας (Plaka Bridge)

Τι μάθαμε για τον Πρωτομάστορα Κώστα Μπέκα μέσα από την αναστήλωση του Γεφυριού της Πλάκας

Videos

*, 2007 *{{YouTube, id= dsJPYokiMNw, title= "The bridge of Plaka", 2012 Bridges completed in 1866 Ottoman bridges in Epirus (region) Arch bridges in Greece Stone bridges in Greece Buildings and structures in Arta (regional unit) Buildings and structures in Ioannina (regional unit) Collapsed buildings and structures 1866 establishments in the Ottoman Empire Footbridges 19th-century architecture in Greece