The beautiful mountain landscape of the Rhodope mountain range, rich in flora and fauna, with its rivers, streams and torrents, has resulted in the construction of a large number of stone bridges over the past centuries. Some of these bridges, which stand proud to this day, began to be built in the Byzantine years and their construction continued until the Turkish occupation. Over the years, as it goes without saying, many technical interventions were made in order to preserve them and remain functional, meeting the needs of the residents in the settlements where they are located.

In the area of ​​Xanthi, according to the 2021 registration of the Directorate of Development of the Regional Unit of Xanthi, there are a total of 54 bridges, which are single-arched, double-arched, or multi-arched. Several of the bridges are built on the beds of the Kosynthos and Kompsatos rivers. One can easily locate them by following the road either from Xanthi to Stavroupoli (Xanthi-Drama National Road), or from Xanthi to Echinos (Xanthi-Echinou National Road), which is the largest of the mountainous Pomakochoria in the region.

The bridges of Xanthi and Thrace in general differ from those of Epirus and western Macedonia, as they are of smaller size. Their technique, however, is similar, because the territory of the area imposed the construction of bridges with the only material stone. They have from one to six arcs and their resistance to time is really impressive.

The main builders of the bridges in the Rhodope Mountains were originally the “Carpenters” from Philippopolis, Bulgaria. Over time, the technique of building stone bridges was also adopted by local artisans.

In search of one of the most beautiful stone and well-preserved bridges in mountainous Xanthi, that of Xiropotamos, the route offers many landscapes of unique beauty even in the heart of Winter. Reasonably, however, the visitor reflects that in the spring and summer months, this is how the paradise of the originals should have been!

The single-arched bridge in Meses Thermes

After Echinos and crossing the national road through imposing mountains, a first stop at the Meses Thermes settlement is imperative. Meses Thermes is one of the four settlements of Thermes near the Greek-Bulgarian border. The settlements of Therme are famous for their thermal baths. At the central point of the Meses Thermes settlement is the single-arched bridge, which harmoniously joins its two sides. It is kept in fairly good condition and is still useful today. It has a length of 16.2 meters, a height of 4.7 meters, a bow span of 8.6 meters and a deck width of 2 meters.

The arched bridge of Medusa

Continuing the search, the route leads us to Medusa, a mountainous picturesque settlement with about 300 inhabitants located on the Greek-Bularian border and crossed by the Kompsato river. The arched bridge over the river is an architectural attraction worth the visitor’s curiosity. In the past there was also a second arched bridge, but it was destroyed in 1996 by the floods of the river.

The double-arched bridge, which connects one and the other neighborhood over the stream of the tributary of Kompsatos, dominates the center of the settlement. It has a length of 27 meters, a height of 6.60 meters, the span of the bows is 12.40 and 2.40 respectively and the width of the deck is 2.50 meters.

The three-arch bridge of Xiropotamos

From Medusa starts a dirt road 5 km long that leads to one of the northernmost Pomaki villages of Xanthi, Kottani. Approximately in the middle of this route, which requires caution to cross by car but is of unique beauty in all seasons of the year, is the impressive three-arch bridge of Xiropotamos.

This bridge was tested in the great natural disaster that hit the area in November 1996. The torrent “swallowed” almost the entire bridge, but when the waters receded it appeared intact, with only the southern small arch intact.

The paved cobblestones are preserved in a fairly good condition, but the pillars and iron bars that were placed for safety along the bridge, spoil its architectural beauty.

The stone bridge of Xiropotamos, with a centuries-old history, consists of a large arch and two correspondingly smaller ones. Its total length is 29 meters, the height of the large arch is 5.60 meters with a radius opening of 10.50 meters, while the two smaller ones have a length of 3.40 (the northern one) and 3.20 (the southern one).

A short stop to admire it up close reveals all its beauty. The picture with the wild horses that sometimes graze freely on both banks of the river is still impressive. However, what really makes an alarming impression is the lack of cleanliness along many tributaries and streams. In fact, in some parts of the route from Thermes to Kottani, small dumps are formed next to the beds.

All these stone bridges, small and large, scattered in many parts of P.E. Xanthi in the heart of the Rhodope mountain range, continue to be small treasures of popular architecture. Every effort to preserve and highlight them contributes to the preservation of historical memory and tradition and they certainly deserve more than a fleeting glance from every passing traveler.