Eagles' Bridge ( bg, Орлов мост, ''Orlov most'' ) is a bridge over the

Perlovska Perlovska river ( bg, Перловска река) is a small river in the Sofia Valley in western Bulgaria. The river is only long. It takes its source from the foothills of Vitosha, runs through Sofia's South Park, separates the two lanes of Evl ...

River in downtown

Sofia Sofia ( ; bg, София, Sofiya, ) is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain in the western parts of the country. The city is built west of the Iskar river, and ha ...

, capital of

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...

.''Travel Sofia: Illustrated Guide, Phrasebook and Maps'', MobileReference, 2010 The bridge and junction where it is located, sometimes referred to as ''Ploshtad Orlov Most'' (Orlov Most Square) are usually referred simply as Eagles' Bridge (''Orlov most''). The name of the bridge itself comes from the four statues of

eagle Eagle is the common name for many large birds of prey of the family Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of genera, some of which are closely related. Most of the 68 species of eagle are from Eurasia and Africa. Outside this area, just ...

s on it, which are, symbolically, its protectors and patrons. Eagles' Bridge and the junction are located in the immediate proximity of the

Vasil Levski National Stadium Vasil Levski National Stadium ( bg, Национален стадион „Васил Левски“), named after Bulgarian national hero and revolutionary Vasil Levski (1837–1873), is the country's second largest stadium. The stadium has 43,2 ...

, the Monument to the Soviet Army, the

Borisova gradina Borisova gradina or Knyaz-Borisova gradina ( bg, Борисова градина or Княз-Борисова градина, translated as Boris' Garden or Knyaz Boris' Garden) is the oldest and best known park in Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria. I ...

park and Lake Ariana, and near

Sofia University Sofia University, "St. Kliment Ohridski" at the University of Sofia, ( bg, Софийски университет „Св. Климент Охридски“, ''Sofijski universitet „Sv. Kliment Ohridski“'') is the oldest higher education i ...

. Two main boulevards cross there –

Evlogi Georgiev Boulevard Evlogi and Hristo Georgievi Boulevard ( bg, Булевард Евлоги и Христо Георгиеви, usually referred to simply as ''Evlogi Georgiev'', which was its name for most of the 20th Century) is an important boulevard in the Bulga ...

, which follows the Perlovska river, and

Tsarigradsko Shose Tsarigradsko shose ( bg, Цариградско шосе, lit= Tsarigrad (Istanbul) Chausseé (Road)) is the largest boulevard in the capital of Bulgaria, Sofia. The boulevard provides grade-separated dual carriageway in almost its entire length o ...

, and

Tsar Ivan Asen II Street Tsar ( or ), also spelled ''czar'', ''tzar'', or ''csar'', is a title used by East Slavs, East and South Slavs, South Slavic monarchs. The term is derived from the Latin word ''Caesar (title), caesar'', which was intended to mean "emperor" i ...

terminates there. For the traffic entering Sofia from the southeast by

Tsarigradsko shose Tsarigradsko shose ( bg, Цариградско шосе, lit= Tsarigrad (Istanbul) Chausseé (Road)) is the largest boulevard in the capital of Bulgaria, Sofia. The boulevard provides grade-separated dual carriageway in almost its entire length o ...

, Eagles' Bridge is the first junction and the point from where the city centre is accessed. The bridge was constructed in 1891 by

Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus' Places * Czech, ...

architect

Václav Prošek Václav Prošek (born 8 April 1993) is a Czech football player who currently plays for FK Ústí nad Labem FK Ústí nad Labem is a Czech football club based in the city of Ústí nad Labem. Currently the club plays in the Bohemian Football L ...

, his brother Jozef and his cousins Bohdan and Jiří. They also designed together and built the Lions' Bridge at the northern point of entry to central Sofia in 1889. The cost of the entire construction of the bridge was 80,000 golden leva. One of the bridge's columns and bronze eagles are depicted on the

reverse Reverse or reversing may refer to: Arts and media * ''Reverse'' (Eldritch album), 2001 * ''Reverse'' (2009 film), a Polish comedy-drama film * ''Reverse'' (2019 film), an Iranian crime-drama film * ''Reverse'' (Morandi album), 2005 * ''Reverse'' ...

print of Bulgarian 20 levs banknote, issued in 1999 and 2007. The place is often a site of protests. Orlov Most was the focus of 2012 ecological protests against construction on

Vitosha Vitosha ( bg, Витоша ), the ancient ''Scomius'' or ''Scombrus'', is a mountain massif, on the outskirts of Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria. Vitosha is one of the symbols of Sofia and the closest site for hiking, alpinism and skiing. Conveni ...

mountain and on the

Dyuni Dyuni (Дюни, "Dunes"; also Duni or Dyunite) is a holiday town and seaside resort on the Bulgarian Black Sea Coast, 40 km south of the Bulgarian city of Burgas and 7 km from Sozopol. The construction of the resort began in 1987 by a ...

nature spot on the Black Sea coast. The bridge was also a major focus of political protests in 2013, with scenes of violence during the winter protests, contrasted with massive but peaceful gatherings during the summer protests, when it would close every evening while protesters gathered there until late into the night. In the 2020–2021 Bulgarian protests, the bridge was repeatedly blocked by protesters with barricades and tents camps were established. Since 2009, Eagles' Bridge has been serviced by the Sofia University Metro Station of

Sofia Metro The Sofia Metro ( bg, Софийски метрополитен, translit=Sofijski Metropoliten, also colloquially called ) is the rapid transit network servicing the Bulgarian capital city Sofia. It began operation on 28 January 1998. , the Sofi ...

M1 line. The M3 line

Orlov most Metro Station Orlov Most ( bg, Орлов мост) is a Sofia Metro station on M3 line. It was opened on 26 August 2020 as part of the inaugural section of the line, from Hadzhi Dimitar to Krasno Selo. The station is located between Teatralna and St. Patr ...

was opened in August 2020.

Gallery

File:Adlerbrücke Sofia c 014.JPG, Eagle's Bridge in Sofia File:Adlerbrücke Sofia c 011.JPG, Close-up of one of the eagles File:Sofia Tsarigradsko shose view from Orlov most 2012 PD.jpg, The beginning of

at Orlov most

References

External links

* {{Sofia landmarks Buildings and structures in Sofia Transport in Sofia Bridges in Bulgaria Bridges completed in 1891 Tourist attractions in Sofia 1891 establishments in Bulgaria

Gallery

See also

References

External links