The Devil's Bridge

The Devil's Bridge over the Arda is an architectural landmark measuring 11.5 m at its highest point, 56 m in length and 3.55 m in width. The largest and most imposing bridge in the Rhodopes, it is a symbol of Ardino municipality. It has three arches and oval openings in its piers for monitoring water levels.

The bridge was built in the early 16th century by order of Sultan Selim I. Oral tradition attributes it to craftsmen from nearby Dyadovtsi, on a route linking the Upper Thracian Plain with Aegean Thrace and the Aegean Sea. The account associates an earlier Roman bridge on this site with the ancient Via Egnatia route through the Makaza pass.

It stands about 10 km from Ardino, beside the abandoned village of Dyadovtsi, in the Arda gorge at 420 m above sea level. Its stylised image forms the municipality's official coat of arms. It is celebrated as a wonder of medieval Balkan engineering.

According to a popular legend, repeated attempts to build a bridge here failed. A young man named Dimitar, said to be from Nedelino or Ardino, repeatedly dreamed of the Devil. The Devil challenged him to build the bridge in 40 days and incorporate an image of him that could be seen yet remained elusive to the touch. Success would earn Dimitar the secret of the bridge's strength; failure would cost him his soul.

Dimitar succeeded and learned the secret, but died soon afterwards. The secret — and the question of the Devil's visible image — remains a mystery.