Balkan Mountains

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Balkan mountains (Stara Planina)
Стара планина
Kom stara planina pano.jpg
A view from Kom Peak in western Bulgaria.
Highest point
Peak Botev Peak
Elevation 2,376 m (7,795 ft)
Coordinates 42°43′00″N 24°55′04″E﻿ / ﻿42.71667°N 24.91778°E﻿ / 42.71667; 24.91778
Length 530 km (330 mi) west-east
Width 15–50 kilometres (9–31 mi) north-south
Area 11,596 km2 (4,477 sq mi)
Countries Bulgaria and Serbia
Range coordinates 43°15′N 25°00′E﻿ / ﻿43.25°N 25°E﻿ / 43.25; 25Coordinates: 43°15′N 25°00′E﻿ / ﻿43.25°N 25°E﻿ / 43.25; 25
Type of rock granite, gneiss, limestone

The Balkan mountain range (Bulgarian and Serbian Cyrillic: Стара планина, Latin Serbian Stara planina, "Old Mountain"; Bulgarian pronunciation: [ˈstarɐ pɫɐniˈna]; Serbian pronunciation: [stâːraː planǐna]) is a mountain range in the eastern part of the Balkan Peninsula. The Balkan range runs 560 km from the Vrashka Chuka / Vrška Čuka 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 Emos) is derived from an unattested Thracian word[dubious ][citation needed] *saimon, meaning 'mountain range'. Other names used to refer to the mountains in different time periods include Aemon, Haemimons, Hem, Emus, the Slavonic Matorni gori, the Turkish Kodzhabalkan and Balkan.[1]

Stara Planina is remarkable for its flora and fauna. Edelweiss grows there in the region of Kozyata stena. Some of the most striking landscapes are included in the Central Balkan National Park with steep cliffs, the highest waterfalls in the Balkan Peninsula and lush vegetation. There are a number of important nature reserves such as Chuprene, Kozyata stena and others. Most of Europe's large mammals inhabit the area including the brown bear, wolf, boar, chamois and deer.


It is believed the name was brought to the region in the 7th century by Bulgars who applied it to the area, as a part of the First Bulgarian Empire. In Bulgarian language the word balkan (балкан) means "mountain". It may have derived from the Persian bālkāneh or bālākhāna, meaning "high, above, or proud house."[2] The name is still preserved in Central Asia with the Balkan Daglary (Balkan Mountains)[3] and the Balkan Province of Turkmenistan. In Turkish balkan means "a chain of wooded mountains"[4][5]


Stara Planina, Rhodope, Rila and Pirin Mountains.
The monument on Shipka.
Central Balkan Mountains.
Stara planina in Serbia.
View from Ray Resthouse towards the Central Balkan Mountains. The Raysko Praskalo waterfall is in the middle.
The Iskar River passing through the mountains in a gorge.
The Kozya Stena Reserve.

Geologically, the Balkan Mountains is a 'young' 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-Balkans to the north, which intrude slightly into the Danubian Plain. To the south, the mountain borders with the Sub-Balkan valleys - a row of 11 valleys running from the border with Serbia to the west to the Black Sea to the east which separate the Balkan mountains from a chain of other mountains known as Srednogorie which include Vitosha and Sredna Gora.

The range consists of around 30 portions called mountains. Stara Planina can be divided into three sections:

  • Western Stara Planina from Vrshka Chuka at the border with Serbia to the Pass of Arabakonak with a total length of 190 km and highest peak Midžor (2,169 m).
  • Central Stara Planina from Arabakonak to the Vratnik Pass with a length of 207 km. Botev Peak (2,376 m) which is the highest in the range is located in that section.
  • Eastern Stara Planina from the Vratnik Pass to Cape Emine with a length of 160 km and highest peak Balgarka (1181 m). Eastern Stara Planina forms the lowest part of the range.

Stara Planina forms a water divide between the rivers flowing to the Danube in the north and those flowing to the Aegean Sea in the south. However, it is crossed by Bulgaria's widest river, the Iskar, which forms the spectacular Iskar Gorge. Rivers which take their source from Stara Planina and flow northwards to the Danube include Timok, Archar, Lom, Tsibritsa, Ogosta, Skat, Vit, Osam, Yantra, Rusenski Lom. It is also the source of the Kamchiya which directly flows in the Black Sea. Although not so abundant in mineral waters as other parts of Bulgaria, there are several spas such as Varshets, Shipkovo and Voneshta Voda. There are a number of waterfalls, especially in the western and central parts of the range such as Raysko Praskalo which is the highest waterfall in the Balkan Peninsula, Borov Kamak, Babsko Praskalo, Etropole Waterfall, Karlovsko Praskalo, Skaklya and others.


The mountain is crossed by 20 passes and two gorges. There are paved roads crossing Stara Planina at the following passes (listed from west to east):



Stara Planina has a significant and special place in the history of Bulgaria since 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, Botev Peak, is Kalofer, the birthplace 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 the Russo-Turkish War, 1877-78, which ended Turkish rule in the Balkans. Close to the pass in the village of Shipka, there is a Russian Orthodox church built to commemorate Russian and Bulgarian bravery during pass defense.

See also[edit]

References and notes[edit]

  1. ^ "SummitPost - Stara Planina (Balkana) -- Climbing, Hiking & Mountaineering". Archived from the original on 6 October 2008. Retrieved 2008-10-14. 
  2. ^ Todorova, Maria N. (1997). Imagining the Balkans. New York: Oxford University Press, Inc. p. 27. 
  3. ^ "Balkhan Mountains". World Land Features Database. Archived from the original on 28 February 2008. Retrieved 31 March 2008. 
  4. ^ "Balkan". Encarta World English Dictionary. Microsoft Corporation. Archived from the original on 31 October 2009. Retrieved 31 March 2008. 
  5. ^ "balkan". Büyük Türkçe Sözlük (in Turkish). Türk Dil Kurumu. "Sarp ve ormanlık sıradağ" 

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