The Stone Bridge near Nenkovo Village

About 30 kilometres northwest of Kardzhali, slightly above the Kardzhali Reservoir, nestled at the foot of Mount Bezdiven’s eastern slope, is the small Rhodopean village of Nenkovo, which is home to a little over 100 people and which appears as though it has frozen in time. Not many people know that before you reach the village (about 700 metres south of it), on the left side of the road which runs parallel to the River Borovitsa (the old name of which is Chamdere, is 42km long and also is the left tributary of the Arda River, which flows into the Kardzhali Reservoir), almost unnoticeably before the travellers’ eyes appears a stone bridge (similar to the famous Devil’s Bridge
by the village Dyadovtsi in the Ardino municipality), which connects the two shores of the Borovitsa river, a bit before Nenkovo village, magnetic, with striking beauty, but seemingly cut off from time and forgotten like the village itself.

The bridge impresses with its grand dimensions and asymmetrical stonework. The bridge lies on one of the most important routes, which during the 18th century passed through the Eastern Rhodopes and connected Plovdiv to Komotini, while passing through Asenovgrad, Kardzhali, Momchilgrad and the Makaza Pass. The route of the path passes through very difficult mountain terrain, passes the steep shores of the Arda River and her tributaries, the rivers Varbitsa, Borovitsa, Krumovitsa, Byala River and others.

Reaching the village Nenkovo, the route of the road requires crossing the river Borovitsa, whose bed is too wide, which is too full during snowmelt and heavy rains. This is also the reason why the route of the road crosses the river on a multi-arched bridge. Three openings and one relief have been preserved from the bridge. It is obstructed by deposits of gravel carried by the river, preventing the determination of the height of the arches or the visibility of the foundations of the piers. Its length is 59 meters, and the width of the roadway is 2.90 meters. It is constructed of rough river stone bonded with mortar. Only the friezes above the openings are made of dressed stone. The pavement is cobblestone. In the upper part of the frieze, on the central opening, the year of construction is inscribed in Arabic numerals.

The numerals are carved on the surface of a stone located on the northern side of the bridge,
to the left of the keystone. The inscribed year is 1195, which corresponds to 1780–1781 in the current calendar. On the side frieze of the smallest preserved opening, two handprints are engraved. It is believed that this might be the "signature" left by the anonymous builder. (Alexander Antonov, Stone Bridges in Bulgaria, 15th–20th Century, 2019, p. 128–130))
There are local legends suggesting that gold was buried in the foundations of the bridge, and
parts of the stones in its base were excavated by people searching for treasure. Its eastern and western sections have been rebuilt and repaired in modern times due to such intrusions and the river’s strong currents during flood seasons.
The small Rhodope village of Nenkovo seems frozen in time, with its tranquility and serenity, inhabited by a few remaining but friendly elderly residents who live a life outside of the usual passage of time, connected to the land and nature. But walking through its narrow cobblestone streets, between old stone houses with tile roofs hiding stories of lives lived in the past century, one is enchanted by the preserved quiet and mystical atmosphere of this place. Contributing to this unique charm is the fact that the village's only connection to the outside world is a rope bridge at its entrance.This bridge resembles, in design, , the well-known rope bridge (over the Varbitsa River) near the village of Lisitsite, in the Kardzhali
Lisitsite village, Kardzhali municipality (located on one bank of the Studen Kladenets Reservoir),
though it is smaller in scale.
To reach the stone bridge near the village of Nenkovo, starting from Kardzhali, in the
direction of the Kardzhali Reservoir, the route passes through the village of Sredinka, then continues through the villages of Enchetz, Zelenikovo, Blenika, Penyovo, Dazhdovnitsa, and Padartsi. The route passes thourgh some of the most beautiful views of the Kardzhali Reservoir, as well as the valley of the Borovitsa River and the vivid green peaks of Bezdiven (1,140 m), Radimar, and Chilyaka (1,459 m). Shortly after the village of Dazhdovnitsa, even from the asphalt road, at one of the bends, there is a view of the carved rock niches located high up on the inaccessible vertical cliffs. After Padartsi, the route passes near the pleasant Borovitsa Lodge, and 5 kilometers south of Nenkovo, on the right side of the road, there is a sign for the Utroba Cave..

Categories

• Landmarks
• Historical landmarks

Regions

• Kardzhali city
• village of Nenkovo

Location