Momina Klisura ( bg, Момина клисура, meaning ''Maiden's Gorge'') is a steep valley along the river

Mesta The ''Mesta'' () was a powerful association protecting livestock owners and their animals in the Crown of Castile that was incorporated in the 13th century and was dissolved in 1836. Although best known for its organisation of the annual migrat ...

in south-western

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 ...

, stretching about 25 km. Administratively, it is situated in the municipalities of

Bansko Bansko ( bg, Банско ) is a town in southwestern Bulgaria, located at the foot of the Pirin, Pirin Mountains at an elevation of 1200m AMSL, above sea level. It is a ski resort. Legends There are several legends about who founded Bansko. Ac ...

and

Gotse Delchev Georgi Nikolov Delchev (Bulgarian language, Bulgarian/Macedonian language, Macedonian: Георги/Ѓорѓи Николов Делчев; 4 February 1872 – 4 May 1903), known as Gotse Delchev or Goce Delčev (''Гоце Делчев ...

Blagoevgrad Province Blagoevgrad Province ( bg, област Благоевград, ''oblast Blagoevgrad'' or Благоевградска област, ''Blagoevgradska oblast''), also known as Pirin Macedonia or Bulgarian Macedonia ( bg, Пиринска Маке� ...

. According to the legend, the gorge was named after a maiden, who fought the

Ottoman Turks The Ottoman Turks ( tr, Osmanlı Türkleri), were the Turkic founding and sociopolitically the most dominant ethnic group of the Ottoman Empire ( 1299/1302–1922). Reliable information about the early history of Ottoman Turks remains scarce, ...

defending the fortress of Momina Kula and plunged into the abyss upon seeing that the stronghold was about to fall.

Geography

Momina Klisura forms the divide between the

Pirin Mountains , photo=Pirin-mountains-Bansko.jpg , photo_caption=Pirin scenery in winter , country= Bulgaria, , parent= , geology= granite, gneiss, marble, limestone , area_km2=2585 , range_coordinates = , length_km=80 , length_orientation= north-s ...

in the west and the westernmost ridge of the

Rhodope Mountains The Rhodopes (; bg, Родопи, ; el, Ροδόπη, ''Rodopi''; tr, Rodoplar) are a mountain range in Southeastern Europe, and the largest by area in Bulgaria, with over 83% of its area in the southern part of the country and the remainder in ...

, Dabrash, in the east. It links the south-easternmost part of the

Razlog Valley The Razlog Valley ( bg, Разложка котловина, Razlozhka kotlovina) is a valley in southwestern Bulgaria, Blagoevgrad Province, the municipalities of Razlog, Bansko and Belitsa. It is located between the mountains of Rila to the no ...

in the north and the northernmost part of the Gotse Delchev Valley in the south. The gorge is about 25 km long with an average altitude of 642 m. It is narrow with steep slopes dug into

metamorphic rock Metamorphic rocks arise from the transformation of existing rock to new types of rock in a process called metamorphism. The original rock (protolith) is subjected to temperatures greater than and, often, elevated pressure of or more, causin ...

s, late

Triassic The Triassic ( ) is a geologic period and system which spans 50.6 million years from the end of the Permian Period 251.902 million years ago ( Mya), to the beginning of the Jurassic Period 201.36 Mya. The Triassic is the first and shortest period ...

sediment and

vulcanite Vulcanite is a rare copper telluride mineral. The mineral has a metallic luster, and has a green or bronze-yellow tint. It has a hardness between 1 and 2 on the Mohs scale (between talc and gypsum). Its crystal structure is orthorhombic. Vulcanit ...

. The river Retizhe, a right tributary of the Mesta, flows into its main course at Momina Klisura. The gorge takes its beginning east of the town of

Dobrinishte Dobrinishte ( bg, Добринище ) is a small town and ski resort in the Blagoevgrad Province, Bansko Municipality, southwestern Bulgaria. it has 2973 inhabitants. It is located 6 km east of Bansko, a famous winter resort. It has an al ...

, at the confluence with Bezbog River at an altitude of 693 m and heads to the south and south-east. The middle section is in the area of the village of

, where the altitude is 642 m. Momina Klisura ends to the south-east of the village of

Gospodintsi Gospodintsi (before 1934: ''Tsiropol'')is a village in Gotse Delchev Municipality, in Blagoevgrad Province, Bulgaria. It is situated on both sides of the Mesta river, 9 kilometers north of Gotse Delchev and 67 kilometers southeast of Blagoevgrad ...

in the Gotse Delchev Valley at an altitude of 544 m. Along its length are located the villages of Filipovo, Mesta and Gospodintsi, as well as the ruins of the

late antique Late antiquity is the time of transition from classical antiquity to the Middle Ages, generally spanning the 3rd–7th century in Europe and adjacent areas bordering the Mediterranean Basin. The popularization of this periodization in English has ...

and medieval fortress Momina Kula and another fortress near Gospodintsi. A 27.4 km long section of the second class road II-19 between

Simitli Simitli ( bg, Симитли ) also known as Simitliya ( bg, Симитлия), is a town in Blagoevgrad Province in southwestern Bulgaria. It has a population of 7,454 and is located 17 km south of Blagoevgrad. It is the seat of Simitli Muni ...

and Ilinden at the border with Greece follows the gorge.

Gallery

File:Momina kula IMG 0839.jpg, Momina Kula File:Momina kula East Wall Mesta River Bulgaria.jpg, Momina Kula

Citations

References

* * {{cite book , ref={{harvid, Dushkov, 1972 , title = Пирин. Туристически речник , trans-title = Pirin. Tourist Dictionary , last1 = Душков (Dushkov) , first1 = Добри (Dobri) , year = 1972 , language = Bulgarian , publisher = Наука и култура (Nauka i kultura) , location = София (

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 ...

) , isbn = Canyons and gorges of Bulgaria Landforms of Blagoevgrad Province