The covered bridge of Kolyu Ficheto

If every city has its own symbol, which defines it and makes it famous for the whole world, for Lovech this would be the covered bridge built by the master Kolyu Ficheto in the 70’s of the 19th century. It connects the old district of the town Varosha with the modern city, stretching over the Osam River. The stone foundations and its wooden clothing make the bridge unique in the Balkans. There are three more similar ones in Europe, among which the most famous one is in Florence / Italy/, but the lucrative bridges of Lucerne / Switzerland / and Erfurt / Germany / are not less attractive.

At the creation of the bridge, there were about 60 shops of craftsmen who offered their goods. Today, you can also buy souvenirs, jewelry and artifacts from the bridge from around 10 stores. On the covered bridge, you can learn about all the attractions of Lovech and see some of them at the Tourist Information Center. There you can find brochures, information about the hotels in the region and much more about the history of the town.

Initially, the bridge was both pedestrian and transport and was built by the famous Bulgarian builder Kolyu Ficheto, ordered by the Ottoman state. The building between 1874 and 1876 included many inhabitants of the town of the lilacs as Lovech is often called. Initially, the bridge is 84 meters long, 7 meters high and 10 meters wide. Half of it was a roadway, and the rest – pedestrian road. It was made entirely of wood, without any metal parts. The stone foundations were five and had a height of 4.5 meters.

Like all the crafts of master Kolyu Ficheto, the bridge was decorated with images of a lion, a two-headed eagle, a whip that depicts the one of the Ottoman armies and the figure of a woman. The bridge was illuminated by gas lanterns. Unfortunately, in 1925 the bridge burned almost to the ground. In its place, a covered bridge is again built, but from reinforced concrete and with a glass roof. In the 80s of the last century, it was reconstructed to resemble the original masterpiece Kolyu Ficheto. However, the bridge has no transport section and it is entirely pedestrian. Its length is greater and reaches 106 meters.