Everything about Balkan Mountains totally explained
| image=Kom stara planina pano.jpg
| image_caption=A view from
Kom Peak in western Bulgaria.
| country= Bulgaria| country1=Serbia|
| parent=| border=
| geology= granite, gneiss, limestone|orogeny= |borders=
| area=11596 | length=530 | length_orientation= west-east
| width=15 - 50 | width_orientation= north-south
| highest=Botev Peak
| highest_elevation=2376
| highest_lat_d=42|highest_lat_m=43|highest_lat_s=00|highest_lat_NS=N
| highest_long_d=24|highest_long_m=55|highest_long_s=04|highest_long_EW=E
| map=
}}
The
Balkan mountain range (
Bulgarian and
Serbian: Стара планина,
Stara planina, "Old Mountain") is an extension of the
Carpathian mountain range, separated from it by the
Danube River.
The Balkan range runs 560 km from the
Vrashka Chuka Peak on the border between
Bulgaria and eastern
Serbia eastward through central
Bulgaria to
Cape Emine on the
Black Sea. The highest peaks of the Stara planina are in central Bulgaria. The highest peak is
Botev (2,376 m), located in the
Central Balkan National Park (established 1991). The mountain gives the name of the
Balkan Peninsula. Stara Planina played an enormous role in the
History of Bulgaria and the development of the
Bulgarian nation and people.
In earlier times the mountains were known as the
Haemus Mons. Scholars consider that
Haemus (Greek
'Aimos) is derived from an unattested
Thracian word *saimon, meaning 'mountain range'.
Stara Planina is remarkable for its flora and fauna.
Edelweiss grows there in the region of
Koziata stena.
Geography
In geological term Stara Planina is a young mountain. It is part of the
Alp-
Himalayan chain which stretches across most of
Europe and
Asia. It can be divided into two parts: the main Balkan Chain and the
Pre-Balkan which follows the main chain to the north.
Passes
The mountain is crossed by 20 passes and 2 gorges. There are paved roads crossing Stara Planina at the following passes (listed from west to east):
Peaks
Botev Peak 2,376 m (named after Hristo Botev)
Midzhur 2,169 m is the highest peak in Central Serbia
Vezhen
Kom
Buzludzha
Levski (named after Vasil Levski)
History
Stara Planina has a significant and special place in the history of Bulgaria from its foundation in 681. It was a natural fortress of the Bulgarian Empire for centuries and formed an effective barrier to Moesia where most of the Medieval capitals were located. The Balkan mountains were the site of numerous battles between the Bulgarian and the Byzantine Empires including the Battle of the Rishki Pass (759), Battle of the Varbitsa Pass (811), Battle of Tryavna (1190) and many others. In the battle of the Varbitsa Pass Khan Krum decisively defeated an enormous Byzantine army killing Emperor Nikephoros I. For many centuries the Byzantines feared that mountain and on several occasions Byzantine armies had pulled back only on the news of approaching Stara Planina.
During the Ottoman rule many haiduks found refuge in Stara Planina. Close to the highest summit, the Botev Peak, is Kalofer, the birth place of Hristo Botev, a Bulgarian poet and national hero who died in the Western Stara Planina near Vratsa in 1876 in the struggle against the Ottoman Empire. Also close to Botev peak is the Shipka Pass, the scene of the four battles in Russo-Turkish War, 1877-78 which ended Turkish rule in the Balkans. Close to the pass in the village of Shipka there's a Russian Orthodox church, built to commemorate Russian and Bulgarian bravery during pass defense.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Balkan Mountains'.
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