Arda river

Overview

Arda (ancient name - Artesk, medieval name - Flum d'Arte - ancient French), is a river in southern Bulgaria, Smolyan region, Kardzhali region and Haskovo region and Northeastern Greece (under the Greek name: Άρδας Ardas), right tributary on the river Maritsa. Its length is 272 km, of which on Bulgarian territory - 241.3 km, which gives it 9th place among the rivers of Bulgaria. The Arda River is the largest river in the Rhodopes and the second largest tributary of the Maritsa River after the Tundzha River. The Arda River drains the eastern parts of the Western Rhodopes and almost entirely the Eastern Rhodopes. The alleged identification of the Arda River with the river names: Harpesos, Arnesos, is not confirmed.

The river valley was one of the best forested valleys in all of Bulgaria. However, as a result of their unplanned use in the past and their reckless exploitation, a large part of the forests have been cut down, which is why today large areas are deforested or covered with weak, hardened forests.

A total of 2170 km² in the Arda valley are occupied by low-stemmed and coniferous forests, which represents about 40% of the total catchment area. Dominant influence are the low-stemmed forests represented by cer, blagun, hairy oak with Mediterranean elements such as red juniper. The karst region between the villages of Oreshari-Dolno Cherkovishte is almost entirely of hornbeam forests, mixed with maple and sagebrush. There are also dracaena and lilac bushes mixed with smin. Coniferous forests are concentrated in the western part of the catchment area, while low-stemmed forests are scattered in the rest of the valley, mainly in the border areas and the lower reaches of the river.

The upper course of the river is relatively sparsely forested - only 35% to the town of Rudozem, with coniferous forests and partly low-stemmed forests predominating here.

The least forested is the middle course of the river, where there are only a few small stiffened groves. An exception is the southern border strip of the catchment area with a width between 5 and 10 km, where the upper reaches of the rivers Varbitsa and Krumovitsa and their tributaries, originating from the Southern Rhodopes, are occupied by dense low-stemmed forests. After the mouth of the right tributary of the Arda Kulidzhiyska River, which serves as a natural border between the unforested and forested parts of the valley, low-stemmed forests are widespread, with a percentage of afforestation of up to 70%. The valley retains this character until it leaves the river on Bulgarian territory.

The Arda valley and the valleys of its tributaries have been a favorite place for settlements since ancient times. A settlement from 6,000 BC was discovered during construction works in the area of ​​the town of Kardzhali, and many of the objects found during the archaeological excavations are in the fund of the Regional Historical Museum. In this respect, the long-known Thracian cult complexes Perperek, also called Perperikon for the last 20 years, as well as Tatul, are no exception. There were fortresses and watchtowers on almost every hill along the bends of the river, and the ruins of many of them are preserved. Such are the fortresses Krivus near the village of Bashevo, Patmos near the hut "Borovitsa", Shesta fortress (identified with the fortress Monyak) near Kardzhali and others.

To cross the ancient roads to the Aegean Sea, several stone bridges were built, impressive in size and impressive today with its original architecture. One such fully preserved from time is the Devil's Bridge in the area of ​​the village of Dyadovtsi (Ardino municipality). There are separate parts of bridges in several places in the region: near the villages of Suhovo and Borovitsa, and another 3 have remained under the waters of the dams.

The river with its dams is a pleasant place for rest and relaxation, and in their waters there are different types of fish, becoming a favorite place for many avid fishermen.