The Plaka Bridge
The single-arched stone bridge of 1866 on the border of Arta and Ioannina, which fell in 2015 and was rebuilt.
- River
- Arachthos
- Location
- Border of Arta and Ioannina
- Completed
- 1866
- Arch span
- 40 m
- Width
- 3.20 m
- Collapsed
- 1 February 2015
- Rebuilt
- Summer 2020
The Plaka Bridge is a single-arch stone footbridge over the Arachthos, on the border of the Arta and Ioannina regional units. Its arch is about 40 metres wide and 17.61 metres high, and the bridge is 3.20 metres wide. Two auxiliary arches of 6 metres complete it. Its total length is given as 61 or 75 metres, depending on the source.
How it was built
The Ottoman sultan Abdülaziz ordered it and it was completed in 1866. The master builder was Kostas Bekas from the nearby village of Pramanta. Two earlier attempts, in 1860 and 1863, failed, and the 1863 structure collapsed on the day of its inauguration. The cost, 180,000 kuruş, was covered by local communities and the merchant Ioannis Loulis.
The fall of 2015 and the rebuilding
On 1 February 2015, a flash flood from heavy rainfall made the Arachthos tear the foundations from the banks, and the central section of the bridge collapsed and was washed away. The bridge had also nearly collapsed in 2007. Restoration was supported by the National Technical University of Athens and was completed in the summer of 2020. It stands today.
