The Iskar ( Bulgarian : Искър , pronounced [ˈiskɐr] ; Latin : Oescus ) is a right tributary of the Danube . With a length of 368 km, it is the longest river that runs entirely within Bulgaria . Originating as three forks in Balkan 's highest mountain range Rila , the Iskar flows in a northern direction until its confluence with the Danube . As it flows northwards it fuels the largest artificial lake in the country, the Iskar Reservoir , forms the divide between the Vitosha and Plana Mountains in the west and the Sredna Gora mountain range in the east before entering the Sofia Valley , which contains the nation's capital Sofia . From there the Iskar runs through the Balkan Mountains , forming the spectacular 84 km long Iskar Gorge . As it crosses the mountains, its water course turns in a north-eastern direction at Lakatnik . North of the Balkan Mountains, the river crosses the Danubian Plain and finally flows into the Danube between the villages of Baykal and Gigen . Geologically, Iskar is the oldest river in the Balkan Peninsula.
58-403: Its watershed drains 8,617 km in the provinces of Sofia , Sofia City , Vratsa , Lovech and Pleven . The Iskar flows through nine towns and numerous villages. The Iskar river basin is home to more than 50 species of fish, including Cottus haemusi that is endemic to the upper Iskar and Vit drainages. The Iskar has a significant economic importance, providing water for the needs of
116-442: A height of 200 m up to 500 m at some points. The Iskar Gorge reaches a length of 70 km (43 mi) between its beginning at Kurilo, a neighbourhood of Novi Iskar, and the village of Lyutibrod where it ends. Other rivers flowing through the province s territory are Topolnitsa , Nishava and Maritsa , and larger bodies of water include 60 barrages and dams . Sofia Province has 247,489 inhabitants according to
174-475: A length of 70 km between its beginning at Kurilo, a neighbourhood of Novi Iskar, and the village of Lyutibrod which marks its end. The river flows north through much of the gorge but at Lakatnik it forms a right turn and starts flowing eastwards. Up to Gara Bov the Iskar flows through very eroded rocks and the gorge is wide with better developed and preserved river terraces. These terraces have formed during
232-476: A narrow and carved river bed. At Lyutibrod the Iskar enters the Pre-Balkan hills where it forms its fourth gorge with a length of 64 km. The inclination is 2.59‰ on average between Lyutibrod and the town of Roman , and 1.38‰ between Roman and Chomakovtsi . At Karlukovo the river once again turns its course in northern direction. The lower course begins from the village of Chomakovtsi, where it leaves
290-562: A railway. The Iskar is 368 km long, which makes it the longest river that runs entirely within the territory of Bulgaria. The Danube and the Maritsa rivers are both longer but they also flow through other countries. The Iskar is a tributary to the Danube and forms part of the Black Sea river basin. It is the only river that takes its source in southern Bulgaria and flows north through
348-575: A total population of about 1,600,000 people. The most significant right tributaries from south to north are the Lesnovska reka (65 km), Malki Iskar (85 km) and Zlatna Panega (50 km); the largest left tributaries are the Palakaria (39 km), Vitoshka Bistritsa (12 km) and Perlovska (31 km). Its average discharge at the mouth is 54 m/s (1,900 cu ft/s). The Iskar headwaters consist of three forks in
406-608: Is 1.60 m/s; its basin covers 237 km. Beli (white) Iskar is the longest of the three with a length of 28 km and its springs are at the northern slopes of the Redzhepitsa Peak (2,677 m). It forms a deep and steep valley and has a basin of 91 km. One of its tributaries, the Musalenska Bistritsa , takes its beginning from the Musala Lakes under the slopes of Musala (2,925 m),
464-543: Is a compound word of "samo" and "kov", respectively meaning "self" and the root of the verb "forge, hammer", and comes from the samokov , a mechanical forge powered by water, since the town of Samokov was a major iron-producing centre during the Middle Ages. It is thought that Samokov was founded in the 14th century as a mining settlement with the assistance of Saxon miners under the Bulgarian Empire . It
522-650: Is a town in Sofia Province in the southwest of Bulgaria . It is situated in Samokov Valley between the mountain ranges of Rila , Vitosha and Sredna Gora , 55 kilometres from the capital Sofia . Due to the suitable winter sports conditions, Samokov, together with the nearby resort Borovets , is a major tourist centre. In the past, Samokov was a centre of handicrafts and art, with notable Bulgarian National Revival figures like Zahari Zograf , Hristo Dimitrov and Nikola Obrazopisov . The town's name
580-755: Is located in Samokov. It is a fairly small hill, K-40 metres with a 45-metre jump. The hill is very old and needs to be renovated. The local team is the SK OTP Samokov and the FC Rilski Sportist Samokov . Samokov is situated in Samokov Valley between the mountain ranges of Rila , Vitosha , Plana and Sredna Gora , 55 kilometres from the capital Sofia . Samokov has a humid continental climate ( Köppen climate classification Dfb ) with an average annual temperature of approximately 9 °C (48 °F). The altitude of 950 metres, in
638-657: The 2011 Bulgarian Census . The Sofia province (Област, oblast ) contains 22 municipalities (singular: община, obshtina - plural: Общини, obshtini ). The following table shows the names of each municipality in English and Cyrillic , the main town (in bold) or village, and the population of each as of 2009. The province had a population of 273 252 (also given as 273,240) according to a 2001 census , of which 49.2% were male and 50.8% were female . Total population (2011 census): 247 489 Ethnic groups (2011 census): Identified themselves: 230 781 persons: Ethnic groups in
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#1732764892124696-654: The Axis powers , had become fierce by 1944. In January 1944, Special Operations Executive Major William Frank Thompson and another British officer, Sergeant Kenneth Scott, were parachuted with radio equipment in southern Yugoslavia; their mission was to provide liaison between the British Army and the PLRA. The two joined a group of 100 ill-equipped Bulgarian partisans and entered Bulgaria in May 1944. After some initial success,
754-680: The Balkan Peninsula . Between the 14th and 18th centuries, Samokov was established as an administrative center for iron ore mining by the ruling Ottoman Empire . From the 16th century until the abolishment of the Serbian Patriarchate of Peć in 1766, Samokov was placed by the Ottomans as the seat of the easternmost eparchy of the Serbian Orthodox Church . In the 16th and 17th centuries, it grew into
812-594: The Danube in the early 580s AD. The Eastern Roman Empire , or Byzantium, was incapable of defending these territories at the time. With most Byzantine troops protecting the rich Asian provinces from Arab and Persian raids, even small and disorganised Slavic attacks caused much disruption throughout Moesia. The numerous Slavs gradually mixed with and assimilated the native population. The area remained under Byzantine control until 809 AD, when Krum captured Serdica and massacred some 6,000 soldiers and civilians. Sometime in
870-678: The Principality of Bulgaria . The Kingdom of Serbia opposed the strengthening of its rival. Serbian king Milan I declared war on Bulgaria on 14 November 1885, but the Serbian forces were decisively defeated at the Battle of Slivnitsa between 17 and 19 November. Another decisive Bulgarian victory occurred at Gurgulyat , where Bulgarian soldiers and civilian volunteers fought the Serb Moravian division and prevented it from reinforcing
928-459: The Quaternary and can be 110 to 120 m high. Upstream the river runs through mesozoic limestone, which makes the gorge narrow and even canyon-like at places. At the very beginning of the gorge to Rebrovo the inclination of the Iskar is only 0.75‰ and it flows slowly, forming meanders and even islets. However, the inclination soon increases to an average of 4.1‰ and the flow quickens, forming
986-535: The South Shetland Islands , Antarctica is named after Iskar River. Sofia Province 42°40′N 23°40′E / 42.667°N 23.667°E / 42.667; 23.667 Sofia Province ( Bulgarian : Софийска област , romanized : Sofiyska oblast ) is a province ( oblast ) of Bulgaria . The province does not include Sofia in its territories, but Sofia remains its administrative center. The province borders on
1044-688: The main stem of the river, taking its source from the Chamovsko Lake (2,500 m) to the north-east of Damga Peak (2,669 m) and from there the river flows in north-eastern direction through the Govedartsi Valley, filled by the waters of the Chanakgyolski, Malyovishki and Urdini Lakes. The river enters the Balkan Mountains at the town of Novi Iskar and forms a long and spectacular gorge, whose slopes reach
1102-457: The processing sector and operate at a profit. Mining has been developed on a large scale since the 1950s. The Chelopech copper mine opened in 1954 and has since produced 19.7 million tonnes of ore, peaking at 512,000 tonnes annually in 1988. In 1958, a copper smelter and refinery near Pirdop began operations and blended concentrates from Chelopech and two other mines in the area, Elatsite and Assarel . Since its privatisation in 1997,
1160-575: The stone loach , while the species of the family Cobitidae include European weather loach , spined loach , Balkan loach , golden spined loach , Bulgarian spined loach , and Cottus haemusi . The brown trout is the only representative of the Salmonidae . The predominantly marine family Clupeidae is represented by the Pontic shad . The Gobiidae include Kessler's goby , monkey goby and racer goby . The Iskar used to be inhabited by one of
1218-702: The 10th century, construction of the Boyana Church began as well. Churches and monasteries in the area flourished during the Second Bulgarian Empire . Tsar Ivan Alexander established a ring of 14 monasteries around Sredets (formerly Serdica), with rules and organisation similar to the monastery cluster on Mount Athos , known as Sveta Gora in Bulgarian. The Sveta Gora of Sofia includes temples and monasteries throughout today's Sofia Province, spanning from Plana and Vitosha Mountains in
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#17327648921241276-452: The 1932 military expedition measured both Vihren and Musala with a margin of error of only 15 centimetres and thus put an end to the rivalry. Rila is also the source of the Iskar , the longest river that runs entirely within Bulgarian territory. It is a tributary to the Danube and forms part of the Black Sea river basin. The 23 km (14 mi) long Cherni (black) Iskar is considered
1334-698: The Balkan Mountains that form the water divide between the basins of the Black Sea to the north and the Aegean Sea to the south. In terms of geology, the Iskar is the oldest river in the Balkans and also the only one to have preserved its original direction despite the significant geological changes in later stages. The Iskar basin spans a territory of 8,646 km in six Bulgarian provinces, Sofia , Sofia City , Vratsa , Lovech and Pleven , with
1392-524: The Danube is situated at an altitude of 25 m, at 3 km to the north-east of the village of Baykal and to the west of the village of Gigen . There are several protected areas that include parts of the Iskar river. The headwaters of the river it its uppermost course fall within the territory of Rila National Park , the largest one in Bulgaria. The European Union network of nature protection areas Natura 2000 includes several protected areas along
1450-889: The Danube, which is among the southernmost points of its range. The Esociformes are also represented by a single species, the northern pike . The Perciformes are the most diverse order of fishes in the Iskar, represented by several families. The autochthonous species of the family Percidae include pikeperch , Volga pikeperch , European perch , common zingel , streber , Eurasian ruffe , Balon's ruffe , striped ruffe , The Cyprinidae are represented by asp , tench , Danube bleak , common bleak , riffle minnow , silver bream , common bream , white-eye bream , blue bream , Vimba bream , sabrefish , ide , European chub , common nase , European bitterling , common roach , common minnow , common rudd , gudgeon , Kessler's gudgeon , Danube whitefin gudgeon , common barbel , Romanian barbel , crucian carp , The Nemacheilidae are represented by
1508-468: The Iskar are habitat of the European pond turtle , dice snake and grass snake with a number of other reptiles inhabiting the river banks and surrounding areas, such as spur-thighed tortoise , Herman's tortoise , horned viper , Blotched snake , Caspian whipsnake , Aesculapian snake , European green lizard , common wall lizard , Balkan wall lizard , etc. Iskar Glacier on Livingston Island in
1566-494: The Iskar takes its beginning at the village of German . As it enters the Sofia Valley (550 m) at the aforementioned village it turns northwards and forms a wide river bed. There the river flows through the easternmost suburbs of the national capital Sofia and is crossed over by the runway of Sofia International Airport . In the southern parts of the valley the Iskar has an inclination of 6.7‰ that decreases to 0.06‰ in
1624-450: The agricultural use of the otherwise fertile mountain valleys. Stara Planina , Sredna Gora and Rila are the principal mountain ranges that the province straddles, while Plana and Vitosha lie entirely within its territory. The highest peak on the Balkan Peninsula , Musala , rises 2,925 metres above sea level in Rila at the southern end of the province. The precise height of Musala
1682-623: The area were merged after the war into what is now a single village, Thompson , named after the British officer. With a territory of 7 020 km², Sofia Province is the second-largest in Bulgaria. It also has the highest number of municipalities, 22, and borders nine other provinces as well as Serbia to the northwest. The lowest areas stand at 350 metres above sea level, whereas the highest rise above 2,900 metres, resulting in diverse terrain, soil and climatic factors. A temperate climate with cold winters, cool springs and mild summers hampers
1740-603: The areas north of Vitosha were inhabited by the Tilataei and the Treri . The Triballi were also known to have inhabited the region around Serdica . The Serdi , a Celtic tribe that appeared in place of the vanished Treri and Tilataei, were first mentioned in 29 BC. Roman General Marcus Licinius Crassus began his campaign against the Triballi in that year, and in 27 BC his troops captured Serdica. Felix Philipp Kanitz ,
1798-489: The capital and a number of manufacturing plants. It waters are also utilised for irrigation and electrical energy generation, while the scenic gorges and rock formations throughout its course provide excellent conditions for recreation. Although the Iskar is not navigable its valley is very important for transportation, especially along the Iskar Gorge, which is one of the only three passes in the Balkan Mountains crossed by
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1856-407: The collapse of Communism, but a high-voltage electronics factory owned by Siemens has taken its place. Bulgaria's oldest ski resort, Borovets , is located near Samokov . Its high annual influx of tourists has given a boost to the local property market and has drawn foreign investment in hospitality and recreation. Samokov Samokov ( Bulgarian : Самоков [ˈsamokof] )
1914-490: The first person to study the Iskar Gorge area thoroughly, identified eight Roman castella , which he considered proof of the great strategic importance the Romans placed on the gorge. The road passing through it connected Roman lands from Thessaloniki all the way to Dacia . However, up until modern times, the gorge was poorly accessible because of its rugged terrain. As a result, the inhabitants were partially isolated from
1972-480: The greatest iron extraction centre in the region, with western travellers describing it as 'a fairly large city'. In 1565–1566, Samokov had to produce and deliver to Belgrade 20,000 horseshoes and 30,000 nails . Samokov also produced anchors and other materials for the shipyards of the Bulgarian Black Sea Coast , particularly Pomorie. As the logging industry was also well developed, in 1573
2030-629: The grounds of the former "Mikroelektronika" state-owned factories. Computer manufacturing was also thriving in Pravets during the Socialist era and by 1988 Bulgaria seemed set to become a major exporter of computers to the West. Pravetz models manufactured in the town accounted for 40% of all computers used in the Eastern Bloc in the 1980s. The Pravets manufacturing plant became defunct after
2088-493: The group was ambushed, and Thompson was captured near Eleshnitsa along with a dozen Bulgarian partisans. After being shown the severed heads of other partisans on pikes, they were tortured by government troops and their paramilitary aides, the Gendarmerie . Because of his Communist sympathies and fluent Bulgarian and Russian , Thompson and the other resistance fighters were executed by a firing squad. Several villages in
2146-656: The highest summit of the Balkan Peninsula. In its upper course at an altitude of 1,900 m is located the Beli Iskar Reservoir , constructed between 1939 and 1945, that powers a small 16 MW hydro power station. Levi (left) Iskar is the smallest of the three and has its origins at the northern slopes of the Marinkyovistsa Peak (2,636 m). It flows through a deep valley for 18 km until its confluence with Cherni Iskar downstream of
2204-452: The lower Iskar valley are higher and steeper than the left. In the past, the riverbed was carved into an alluvial bottom and due to the small inclination the river used to form meanders with swampy banks. Nowadays the Iskar flows in a corrected riverbed during the last about 17 km until it reaches the Danube. The riverbeds of some of its tributaries such as Blato, Stari Iskar and Kakach Kriva river have also been adjusted. The confluence with
2262-455: The lower course near the confluence with the Danube. The jawless fishes of the order Petromyzontiformes are represented by a single family Petromyzontidae with two species, brook lamprey , Carpathian brook lamprey . The Siluriformes include the only species of this order in Europe, the wels catfish . The only freshwater fish of the order Gadiformes, the burbot , inhabits the lower course near
2320-458: The main Serbian force at Slivnitsa. During World War II , a number of resistance fighters were based in the area. The mainly Soviet-oriented resistance - the People's Liberation Rebel Army, PLRA - organised locally under the 1st Sofia Rebellion Operations Zone, particularly in the areas around Botevgrad and Ihtiman . Anti-partisan operations by the Bulgarian government military, then part of
2378-677: The north. As it emerges out of the valley the river fills the Iskar Reservoir , the largest artificial lake in Bulgaria. Downstream of the dam the Iskar flows in north-western direction and forms the 22 km long Pancharevo Gorge that divides the Vitosha and Plana Mountains in the west and the Sredna Gora mountain range in the east. There it fills the Pasarel Reservoir and Lake Pancharevo . The middle course of
Iskar (river) - Misplaced Pages Continue
2436-468: The northern reaches of the valley near the town of Novi Iskar . Upstream in Sofia Valley the sediment that the Iskar carries consists mainly of rough gravel while downstream it is mainly sand. The river enters the Balkan Mountains at the town of Novi Iskar and forms a long and spectacular gorge, whose slopes reach a height of 200 m up to 500 m at some points. The Iskar Gorge reaches
2494-540: The northern slopes of Rila , Bulgaria's highest mountain range. The 23 km long Cherni (black) Iskar is considered the main stem of the river. It takes its source from the Chamovsko Lake (2,500 m) to the north-east of the summit of Damga (2,669 m) and from there the river flows in north-eastern direction through the Govedartsi Valley, fuelled by the waters of the Chanakgyolski , Malyovishki and Urdini Lakes . Cherni Iskar's discharge at Goverdartsi
2552-411: The people of Samokov had to deliver 300 beams as far as Mecca . Arena Samokov , a large modern sports arena for basketball , volleyball , boxing , wrestling , judo and more, was opened on 8 March 2008. Its cost is estimated to 16 million lev . There is also a skiing centre in Samokov for cross country skiing, a small alpine hill and a snowboard park. Bulgaria's only ski-jumping hill Chernia kos
2610-537: The pre-Balkan mountains and enters the Danubian Plain . From there the Iskar once again flows in north-eastern direction until its confluence with the Danube. In this section the valley of the river is hollowed into the loess sediments of the Danubian Plain. The valley is wide but narrowed by the valleys of neighbouring valleys of the rivers Vit to the east and Skat to the west. The right margins of
2668-522: The province according to 2001 census: 253 536 Bulgarians ( 92.8%), 16 748 Romani ( 6.1%) and 2956 others and unspecified ( 1.1%). Religious adherence in the province according to 2001 census: Sofia Province's Gross regional product (GRP) was 3.11 billion leva ($ 1.84 billion) in 2016, with a per capita value of 13,203 leva ($ 7810), the third-highest nationally. That year, some 9,000 companies produced 8.12 billion leva ($ 4.8 billion) worth of goods and services. Nearly two-thirds of businesses are in
2726-540: The provinces of Pernik , Kyustendil , Blagoevgrad , Pazardzhik , Plovdiv , Lovech , Vratsa , Montana , and " Sofia City Province " (which is in a separate oblast , see Sofia Administration ), and borders with Serbia to the northwest. Archaeological excavations near Chavdar suggest that the region has been settled by humans as early as 7,000 years ago. The earliest evidence of a mass settlement dates back to Thracian times, including tumuli (burial mounds) which remain poorly studied. According to Thucydides ,
2784-493: The rest of the world, self-reliant, but also safe from wars and invasions. Some of the population of Moesia thus found the Iskar river area an appealing safe haven later in the 5th century , when the province was threatened by Hunnic and Gothic raids (see also Collapse of the Western Roman Empire in 476 ). Gothic assaults were followed by large-scale settlement of South Slavs in territories south of
2842-604: The river, such as the section of the Pancharevo Gorge under the code Plana BG0001307 and the lower course of the Iskar in the vicinity of the town of Dolni Dabnik under the code Iskar River BG0000613. The autochthonous ichthyofauna consists of at least 50 species of two classes, Cephalaspidomorphi (jawless fishes) and Actinopterygii (ray-finned fishes), and five orders, Petromyzontiformes (lampreys), Siluriformes (catfish), Gadiformes , Esociformes (pikes and allies) and Perciformes . Many of them are restricted to
2900-479: The six species of sturgeons native to Bulgaria, the sterlet . It could be found upstream as far south as the town of Lukovit but has been extinct from the river and inhabits only the Danube. The amphibians are represented by frogs, such as the European fire-bellied toad , yellow-bellied toad , European green toad , agile frog , European tree frog , common spadefoot , as wells as by two newt species— Danube crested newt and Balkan crested newt . The waters of
2958-441: The skirts of Rila mountain, and the mitigating proximity to the continental mediterranean climate zone, are both strong factors in forming the climate. Summers vary from very warm, sunny and dry to warm and humid, while winter can be relatively mild and wet with much snowfall, but also colder and drier. Spring is often cool and wet, while in autumn there can be numerous sunny, warm days. Samokov Knoll on Livingston Island in
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#17327648921243016-541: The smelter has become Bulgaria's second-largest company as a subsidiary of Aurubis . Canadian company Dundee Precious Metals Inc. has acquired the Chelopech mine, where gold concentrate is currently extracted alongside copper. Mondelez Bulgaria (formerly Kraft Foods Bulgaria ) is the largest confectionery producer nationally, largely owing to the production capacity of its chocolate factory in Svoge . The factory
3074-660: The south to Dragoman and the slopes of Stara Planina in the north. Some of these were established during the First Bulgarian Empire or generally before Ivan Alexander's rule. Apart from these monasteries, a number of other, smaller temples can be traced back to the Second Empire. This includes the Saint Nicholas church in Bukovets , built by Crusaders in the 12th century. Crusader presence
3132-418: The village Mala Tsarkva and has a watershed of 56 km. Iskar proper is formed by the confluence of Beli and Cherni Iskar and remains a typical mountain turbulent river with very large inclination and dragging force before entering the Samokov valley at an altitude of 950 m. It flows through the town of Samokov and is joined by its first significant left tributary, the Palakaria a few kilometres to
3190-580: Was also attested around Bov , which is believed to have been established by an eponymous Fourth Crusade knight who became a vassal of Tsar Kaloyan . The modern territory of Sofia Province has been part of three of the four revolutionary districts during the April Uprising 1876. A few years after Bulgaria's liberation in 1878, Bulgarian nationalists organised a coup in the Ottoman province of Eastern Rumelia and declared its unification with
3248-626: Was established in 1901, privatised in 1993, and upgraded in 2008 to produce up to 365,000,000 chocolate bars annually. Beverages are manufactured near Kostinbrod , where the largest instant coffee factory in Southeast Europe, as well as the main Coca-Cola bottling facility in Bulgaria, are located. Botevgrad is a major microelectronics R&D and manufacturing centre. Microchips , integrated circuits , sensors and automotive electronics are all produced by private companies on
3306-566: Was first mentioned in 1455 and in Ottoman registers of 1477 as Vlaychov Samokov . Some of the best craftsmen, woodcarving masters and builders came from Samokov and were recognized for their skills in creating detailed and impressive woodcarvings, painting beautiful icons and building unique architecture. In fact Samokov was one of the then famous three woodcarving schools in the region, the other two being Debar and Bansko . Their work can be seen in many churches and cultural buildings throughout
3364-641: Was only measured in 1932 by an expedition of the State Geographic Institute of the Ministry of War . Previously, Vihren in southwest Bulgaria was imprecisely measured and proclaimed to be the country's highest peak. This made Mytikas on Mount Olympus in Greece , which rose only three metres higher than Vihren, the highest on the Balkan Peninsula. Locals in Bulgaria supposedly began piling up rocks on Vihren over time to restore its status, but
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