Polyanthos Bridge

The Bridge of Polyanthos (Greek: Γέφυρα Πολύανθου) is an Ottoman bridge (dating to the seventeenth or the eighteenth century) in Western Thrace, in Greece. It crosses the river Kompsatos which is located between the villages of Iasmos and Polyanthos in the prefecture of Rhodope in Western Thrace.

Polyanthos Bridge Γέφυρα Πολύανθου
Polyanthos Bridge
Coordinates	41°8′27″N 25°12′40″E
Carries	Pedestrian (footbridge)
Crosses	Kompsatos River
Locale	Rhodope, Greece
Owner	Hellenic Ministry of Culture and Sports
Characteristics
Material	Stone
Height	12 m (39 ft 4 in)
No. of spans	2
Location

Description

It is a bridge with three arches and has a direction from west to east. The main arch of the bridge has a span of 21.80 meters and a height of 12 meters while the eastern arch has a span of 17 meters. It was built with flat stones by Epirote craftsmen.^[1][2]

In the wider area there are also sites with several early Christian antiquities, such as a three-aisled early Christian basilica located between the village of Polyanthos and the bridge, as well as the Byzantine castle of Polyanthos.^[1]

The sign placed near the Polyanthos Bridge characterizes the bridge as a Byzantine / Medieval monument, even though the Greek Ministry of Culture in the book Ottoman Architecture in Greece describes it as belonging to the Ottoman architecture and period.^[1] The book A Guide to Ottoman Bulgaria in the chapter Ottoman Bridges comments that within popular folklore in the Balkans, Ottoman bridges in Bulgaria tend to be characterized in popular tradition as Roman, while correspondingly in Greece, Ottoman bridges are described by popular tradition as Byzantine.^[3]

Gallery

• Polyanthos Bridge
• 
  The Kompsatos river and the Bridge of Polyanthos
• 
  The signs describe the bridge as Byzantine / Medieval.
• 
  River and bridge.

See also

• Architecture portal
• Greece portal

• Papastathis Bridge
• Bridge of Arta
• Hamidiye Bridge

References

1. Η Οθωμανική Αρχιτεκτονική στην Ελλάδα. Υπουργείο Πολιτισμού (ΥΠ.ΠΟ.). 2008. p. 327. ISBN 978-960-214-792-4.
2. Δαδάκη, Σταυρούλα. "Μεσαιωνική γέφυρα Κομψάτου ποταμού". Ιστοσελίδα του Υπουργείου Πολιτισμού odysseus.culture.gr. Archived from the original on 2021-05-16. Retrieved 13 May 2014.
3. Dimana Trankova; Anthony Georgieff; Hristo Matanov (2011). A Guide to Ottoman Bulgaria. Dimitar Blagoev Printing House. p. 69. ISBN 978-954-92306-5-9. Archived from the original on 2011-11-15. Retrieved 2014-05-13.

External links

• Media related to Kompsatos 17-18 century bridge at Wikimedia Commons