The bridge of Kolyo Ficheto near the town of Byala, Rusensko, has already been restored. The two-story visitor center next to it has also been built, which is yet to be equipped and filled with life. Byala Mayor Dimitar Slavov said this in an interview with BTA, BTA reports.
The beginning of the conservation and restoration of the bridge of Kolyo Ficheto near the town of Byala, Ruse region, was set at the beginning of last year. The activities are carried out under a European project with a total value of BGN 9.5 million, financed under the operational program “Regions in Growth” 2014-2020.
The Kolyo Ficheto bridge is a symbol of the city of Byala and is a cultural monument of national importance. The facility was built more than 150 years ago by master Kolyo Ficheto and is considered an achievement of the Bulgarian Renaissance engineering, construction and architectural art. Work on it began in 1865 and ended in 1867. It was built by order of Midhat Pasha.
The bridge is 276 meters long and nine meters wide. Its 14 arches with an opening of 12 meters are decorated with relief images of animals. It is supported by 13 piers with water cuts and relief niches, as well as two abutments. The bridge is made of cut stone from local limestone and lime mortar. After a flood in 1897, eight arches in the middle part of the bridge were destroyed. In 1922-1923, the bridge was reconstructed with reinforced concrete supports and arches, but the original appearance was changed.
According to a survey carried out years ago, it is clear that the foundations of the facility are sound. There are serious problems with the pavement, there are cracks and joints between the stones. Years ago, because of repairs to the modern bridge, car traffic was directed along the old structure, which depreciated it even more.
According to the project, a two-story building – a visitor center – was built. It has a modern architectural design. It will have a restaurant, a museum that will tell about the life of Kolio Ficheto and the Belen region, service premises, a projection hall, an interactive experience “Time Machine”, with which visitors will go back years to trace the beginning of bridge construction, souvenir shop. There will also be an attractive 3D-mapping show.
Slavov explained that now a 16-acre area is being prepared for landscaping. A parking lot will be built on an area of 4.6 acres.
“The Kolyo Ficheto bridge is the emblem of Byala. It is our most famous site and will lead to even better tourism development and more visitors. This will also have a positive effect on local business. We will also open new ones between 15 and 19 jobs. I think the effect will be for the entire region, not just for Byala,” said Slavov.
The director of the History Museum in Byala, Ivo Zheinov, commented to BTA that there is always a huge benefit for any settlement when the number of tourist sites increases and there is an influx of more tourists.
“Byala is located in a strategic location and is a crossroads of two important roads – one is from the Danube River to the White Sea, and the other is from the Black Sea to Sofia. Therefore, the increase of objects of interest for tourism is of essential importance. The bridge of Kolio Ficheto has been assessed since the second half of the 19th century as the largest hydrotechnical facility outside Constantinople. The Austro-Hungarian scientist, artist and traveler Felix Kanitz also spoke about the bridge. This is the first person who bothered to discover and spoke with master Kolyo Ficheto. Kanitz also made two lithographs of the bridge, which would be very interesting for tourists,” explained Zheinov.
According to him, the restoration of the bridge, which has been in a deplorable state for years, is an extremely valuable and important act for preserving the Bulgarian cultural heritage on the one hand, and on the other – as an object that can be shown not only to the Bulgarian, but and international tourism.
Zheinov also said that a tourist route could be created.
“After tourists have seen the bridge of Kolyo Ficheto and the visitor center, they can come to the Historical Museum in Byala – the building where the Russian Emperor Alexander II lived during the Russo-Turkish War, and then explore in the center of the city the beautiful St. George’s Church. The bells were a gift from the Russian Emperor Alexander II, one of them weighing 1,400 kilograms. There is also a revival tower next to the church. Its original purpose was to be a belfry for the old buried church, which has been demolished. Due to the concerns of the Ottoman authorities, no bell was placed in it, but later a clock was installed. The clock movement is Swiss, gifted by Lazar Payakov, who was the Minister of Finance. The machine itself is of interest to tourists interested in clocks. Rare you can see such Swiss craftsmanship,” said Zheinov.
Tourists can also visit the Art Center, which includes a museum exhibition with eight wax figures of famous people related to the history of Byala and the region.
The exposition presents the Russian baroness Yulia Vrevskaya, a volunteer nurse in the army during the Russo-Turkish war of liberation from 1877 – 1878. She arrived at the 48th Wartime Hospital in Byala, Rousse, on November 20, 1877. The following month, she was assigned to the dressing station of the XII Army Corps in the nearby village of Obretenik. Returning to Byala, Yulia Vrevskaya soon fell ill with spotted typhus and died on February 5, 1878. She was buried near the church in Byala in the uniform of a Sister of Mercy, together with another victim of the insidious disease – Sister Maria Neelova.
There are figures of Kolyo Ficheto, of the revolutionary Panayot Volov, who found his death in the waters of the Yantra River in the area of the bridge facility.
Also included in the exhibit is Prince Alexander Battenberg, who at the age of 20 received his first order in Byala from the Russian Emperor Alexander II, who is also represented.
The sixth figure belongs to the poet Petko Rachov Slaveikov – only 18 years old, he was a teacher for three months in Byala. The other two figures belong to Baba Tonka Obretenova and Stefan Karadzha.
#Time #Machine #story #legendary #bridge #Kolio #Ficheto
