Balkan Mountains

Lore & Background

The Balkan Mountains are a chain of fold mountains, relatively young on a geological time scale, forming part of the Alp-Himalayan chain. They can be divided into the main Balkan Chain and the Pre-Balkans to the north, while to the south they border the Sub-Balkan valleys, a row of 11 valleys running from the Bulgarian-Serbian border east to the Black Sea. The range consists of around 30 distinct peaks and is divided into three sections: the Western Balkan Mountains extend from Vrashka Chuka to the Pass of Arabakonak, with a total length of 190 kilometres (120 mi) and highest peak Midžor at 2,169 metres (7,116 ft); the Central Balkan Mountains run from Arabakonak to the Vratnik Pass, with a length of 207 kilometres (129 mi) and contain Botev Peak, the highest in the range at 2,376 metres (7,795 ft); the Eastern Balkan Mountains extend from the Vratnik Pass to Cape Emine, with a length of 160 kilometres (99 mi) and highest peak Balgarka at 1,181 metres (3,875 ft), forming the lowest part.

In Antiquity and the Middle Ages the mountains were known as Haemus, derived from a Thracian word saimon, meaning 'mountain ridge'. The name of the place where the range meets the Black Sea, Cape Emine, is derived from Aemon. Two folk etymologies from Greek mythology connect the name Haemus to the word haima (αἵμα), meaning 'blood'—one involving the battle between Zeus and Typhon, the other involving King Haemus and his wife Rhodope being transformed into mountains.

Reader's Guide

The Balkan Mountains are significant for their role as a natural barrier and watershed. In much of the central and eastern sections, the summit forms the watershed between the drainage basins of the Black Sea and the Aegean. The mountains are crossed by Bulgaria's longest river, the Iskar, which forms the Iskar Gorge.

The karst relief has produced numerous caves, including Magura, featuring the most important and extended European post-Palaeolithic cave painting, as well as Ledenika, Saeva dupka, and Bacho Kiro. Notable rock formations include the Belogradchik Rocks in the west. The range contains several important protected areas: Central Balkan National Park, Vrachanski Balkan, Bulgarka, and Sinite Kamani, as well as nature reserves like Chuprene and Kozyata stena.

The mountains are remarkable for their flora and fauna—edelweiss grows there in the region of Kozyata stena, and most of Europe's large mammals inhabit the area, including the brown bear, wolf, boar, chamois and deer. The mountains are crossed by 20 passes and two gorges, with paved roads at passes including Petrohan Pass, Iskar Gorge, Vitinya Pass, Shipka Pass, and the Pass of the Republic, among others. Notable waterfalls include Raysko Praskalo, the highest waterfall in the Balkans, and on the Serbian side, discoveries like Kopren at 103.5 m (340 ft) in 2011 and Kaluđerski Skokovi at 232 m (761 ft) in 2012.