Plaka Bridge
{{Short description|Stone footbridge in Greece}}
{{Infobox bridge
| name = Plaka Bridge
| native_name = Γεφύρι Πλάκας
| image = Plaka Bridge Epirus Greece.jpg
| caption = The bridge in 2011
| carries = Pedestrian (Footbridge)
| crosses = Arachthos River
| locale = Arta and Ioannina, Greece
| owner = Hellenic Ministry of Culture and Sports
| material = Stone
| length = {{convert|61|m|ft}} or
{{convert|75|m|ft}}
| width = {{convert|3.20|m|ft}}
| height = {{height|m=21|precision=0}}
| mainspan =
| spans = 1
| pierswater = 2
| open = {{Start date and age|1866|df=y}}
| collapsed = 1860, 1863, 2015
| map_type =
| coordinates = {{coord|39|27|38|N|21|01|48|E|region:GR-D_type:landmark|display=inline,title}}
}}
Plaka Bridge ({{langx|el|Γεφύρι της Πλάκας}}, Gefýri tis Plákas) is a 19th-century stone one-arch bridge in Greece that collapsed during the floods of 1 February 2015, and was rebuilt in 2020.
It is located at the borders of Arta and Ioannina prefectures, above the waters of Arachthos River. Administratively, it belongs to the community of Plaka-Raftaneon.Leftheris et al. (2006), p. 148 With its arch of {{convert|40|m|ft}} width and {{height|m=17.61|precision=0}} height, it was the largest one-arch bridge in Greece{{cite web|title=Plaka Bridge|url=http://odysseus.culture.gr/h/2/eh251.jsp?obj_id=1178|publisher=odysseus.culture.gr|accessdate=1 February 2015}}{{Failed verification|reason=No it's the Korakou Bridge with 45 meters span|date=November 2022}} and the Balkans,{{cite news|title=Greece to restore Ottoman-era bridge|agency=Anadolu Agency|url=http://www.dailysabah.com/europe/2015/02/02/greece-to-restore-ottomanera-bridge|date=2 January 2015|accessdate=2 January 2015}}{{cite web|title=Floods bring down Ottoman bridge in Balkans|url=http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/floods-bring-down-ottoman-bridge-in-balkans-.aspx?pageID=238&nID=77779&NewsCatID=375|newspaper=Hürriyet Daily News|date=2 January 2015|accessdate=2 January 2015}} and the third largest one-arch stone bridge in Europe.{{cite web|title=Κατσανοχώρια: Εξώστης στον Αραχθο|url=http://www.ethnos.gr/entheta.asp?catid=23518&subid=2&pubid=53736954|publisher=Ethnos Online|website=ethnos.gr|accessdate=1 February 2015|language=el}}{{Failed verification|reason=No there're a lot of "larger one-arch stone bridge" in Europe |date=November 2022}} It also had two small auxiliary arches of {{convert|6|m|ft}} width on its two sides. It was considered "one of the most difficult, single-arch bridges to construct."{{irrelevant citation|date=November 2022|reason=No encyclopedic affirmation, no serious sources}}
The bridge was the starting point for rafting and canoeing on Arachthos River.
History
=Construction=
The bridge was built upon the order of Ottoman Sultan Abdülaziz, and was completed in 1866 under the supervision of the famous local builder Kostas Bekas ({{langx|el|Κώστας Μπέκας}})[http://gefyri-plakas.ntua.gr/sites/default/files/Bekas_Dkal.pdf Τι μάθαμε για τον Πρωτομάστορα Κώστα Μπέκα μέσα από την αναστήλωση του Γεφυριού της Πλάκας] 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).{{cite web |url=http://odysseus.culture.gr/h/2/eh251.jsp?obj_id=1178 |title= Plaka Bridge|author= Hellenic Ministry of Culture and Sports|author-link= Ministry of Culture and Sport (Greece)}} The cost of construction, 180,000 kuruş, 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 bridge marked the border between the Kingdom of Greece and the Ottoman Empire, 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.{{cite web|title=Ο Αραχθος "κατάπιε" το γεφύρι των θρύλων|url=http://www.ethnos.gr/article.asp?catid=22768&subid=2&pubid=64133305|publisher=Ethnos Online|website=ethnos.gr|accessdate=2 February 2015|language=el}} The bridge used to be a trade route, connecting Tzoumerka with Epirus and Thessaly.{{cite news|first=Ioanna|last=Zikakou|title=Historic Bridge in Arta to Be Rebuilt After Collapse|newspaper=Greekreporter.com |url=http://greece.greekreporter.com/2015/02/02/historic-bridge-in-arta-to-be-rebuilt-after-collapse|publisher=Greek Reporter|date=2 February 2015|accessdate=2 February 2015}}
During World War II, it was bombed by the Germans, but withstood the bombing with minor damage. Locals repaired it using cement in 1943. On 29 February 1944, during the Axis Occupation of Greece, the {{Interlanguage link multi|Treaty of Plaka|el|3=Συμφωνία της Πλάκας - Μυρόφυλλου}} was signed near the bridge among the armed groups of the Greek Resistance, EAM, EDES, and EKKA.{{cite web|title=Pledge to restore historic Plaka Bridge, destroyed in flash floods|url=http://www.ekathimerini.com/4dcgi/_w_articles_wsite1_1_02/02/2015_546779|newspaper=Kathimerini|date=2 February 2015|accessdate=2 February 2015}} 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.{{cite book |last1=Shrader |first1=Charles R. |title=The Withered Vine: Logistics and the Communist Insurgency in Greece, 1945-1949 |date=1999 |publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group |isbn=9780275965440 |page=xviii, 35 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Vu2i13Yq60QC&pg=PA35 |language=en}}
In spite of the two small {{convert|6|m|4=-wide|adj=mid}} relief arches, the bridge's apex thickness of {{convert|1.56|m|abbr=on}} has been considered small by experts, causing a concentration of horizontal stresses in a region where a {{convert|15|cm|adj=on}} 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 caused by heavy rainfall{{cite web|first=Richard|last=Angwin|title=Flash floods hit Greece and Albania|url=http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2015/02/flash-floods-hit-greece-albania-150202090736149.html|publisher=Al Jazeera|date=2 February 2015|accessdate=2 February 2015}} caused the Arachthos River to rip the bridge's foundations from the riverbanks{{cite web|title=Historic bridge of Plaka, Arta collapses due to heavy rains|url=http://en.protothema.gr/historic-bridge-of-plaka-arta-collapses-due-to-heavy-rains/|newspaper=Proto Thema|accessdate=1 February 2015}} 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.
{{As of|July 2020}}, restoration work, supported by the National Technical University of Athens, is over, and the rebuilt bridge was completed in the summer of 2020.{{cite web | url = https://www.huffingtonpost.gr/entry/anastilosi-gefira-plakas_gr_5da1ba73e4b06ddfc51a8742 | title = Αναστηλώνοντας την Γέφυρα της Πλάκας | author = Alexis Gaglias | publisher = Huffington Post Greece | date = 13 October 2019 | accessdate = 13 October 2019 | language = Greek}}{{cite web | url = https://www.huffingtonpost.gr/entry/yefera-plakas-xana-ste-these-tes_gr_5f089d7ac5b63a72c3414e79 | title = H Γέφυρα της Πλάκας «στεφανώνει» ξανά τον Άραχθο: Φωτογραφική αναδρομή στην Ιστορία | author = Alexis Gaglias | publisher = Huffington Post Greece | date = 11 July 2020 | accessdate = 6 February 2021 | language = Greek}}
References
{{Reflist|30em}}
External links
{{Commons category|Plaka Bridge}}
- {{Structurae|id=20000663|title=Plaka Bridge}}
- {{cite journal|script-title=el:Το Γεφύρι της Πλάκας|trans-title=Plaka Bridge|journal=ΣΚΟΥΦΑΣ - ΠΕΡΙΟΔΙΚΗ ΕΠΙΘΕΩΡΗΣΙΣ|location=Arta|date=September 1960|issue=160|language=el|url=http://www.teloneio.gr/images/stories/to_gefiri_tis_plakas.pdf}}
- [http://gefyri-plakas.ntua.gr/sites/default/files/technical_report_NTUA_gefyri_plakas.pdf Γεφύρι της Πλάκας (Plaka Bridge)]
- [http://gefyri-plakas.ntua.gr/sites/default/files/DKaliampakos_Gia%20ton%20Beka.pdf Τι μάθαμε για τον Πρωτομάστορα Κώστα Μπέκα μέσα από την αναστήλωση του Γεφυριού της Πλάκας]
=Videos=
- {{YouTube| id= fpVrzitHc1g| title= "The bridge of Plaka"}}, 2007
- {{YouTube| id= dsJPYokiMNw| title= "The bridge of Plaka"}}, 2012
Category:Bridges completed in 1866
Category:Ottoman bridges in Epirus (region)
Category:Arch bridges in Greece
Category:Stone bridges in Greece
Category:Buildings and structures in Arta (regional unit)
Category:Buildings and structures in Ioannina (regional unit)
Category:Collapsed buildings and structures