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From
wiki:
Construction
The
bridge
was
built
upon
the
order
of
Ottoman
Sultan
Abdülaziz,and
was
completed
in
1866
under
the
supervision
of
the
famous
local
builder
Kostas
Bekas
(Greek:
Κώστας
Μπέκας)from
the
nearby
village
Pramanta.Two
previous
attempts
by
other
builders
in
1860
and
1863
had
proven
unsuccessful,[4]
with
the
bridge
collapsing
during
construction
(in
1863
it
collapsed
on
the
very
day
of
its
inauguration).[6]
The
cost
of
construction,
180,000
kuruş,
was
covered
by
the
local
communities
and
the
rich
merchant
Ioannis
Loulis.[5]
In
operation
Plaka
Bridge
being
crossed
by
tourists
On
3
February
1878,
during
the
anti-Ottoman
revolt
of
that
year,
Greek
troops
under
the
command
of
Konstantinos
Kottikas
defeated
the
Turkish
garrison
of
the
bridge
and
made
them
retreat.[8]
Between
1881
and
1912
(the
First
Balkan
War),
the
bridge
marked
the
border
between
the
Kingdom
of
Greece
and
the
Ottoman
Empire,
and
a
customs
building
was
erected
alongside
it,[9]
which
still
survives.[5]
Also,
near
the
bridge
there
was
an
outpost
of
the
Greek
army
and
an
inn.[8]
The
bridge
used
to
be
a
trade
route,
connecting
Tzoumerka
with
Epirus
and
Thessaly.[10]
During
World
War
II,
it
was
bombed
by
the
Germans,
and
it
withstood
the
bombing
with
minor
damage.[4]
Locals
repaired
it
using
cement
in
1943.[10]
On
29
February
1944,
during
the
Axis
Occupation
of
Greece,
the
Treaty
of
Plaka
[el]
was
signed
near
the
bridge
among
the
armed
groups
of
the
Greek
Resistance,
EAM,
EDES,
and
EKKA.[9]
According
to
the
treaty
resistance
groups
agreed
to
refrain
from
infringing
on
each
other's
territory,
and
all
future
war
efforts
would
be
directed
against
the
Germans.
This
marked
the
end
of
the
"first
round"
of
the
Greek
civil
war,
which
had
started
on
October
12,
1943.[11]
In
spite
of
the
two
small
6
m
(20
ft)-wide
relief
arches,[1]
the
bridge's
apex
thickness
of
1.56
m
(5
ft
1
in)
has
been
considered
small
by
experts,
causing
a
concentration
of
horizontal
stresses
in
a
region
where
a
15
cm
(5.9
in)
crack
could
be
found.[12]
Plaka
bridge
after
the
restoration
During
heavy
rains
in
2007,
the
bridge
nearly
collapsed,
and
a
restoration
was
considered
but
not
taken,
raising
criticism
by
the
public.[4]
Collapse
(2015)
The
bridge,
which
was
one
of
the
most
impressive
examples
of
Greek
popular
architecture,
collapsed
on
1
February
2015.
A
flash
flood
caused
by
heavy
rainfall[13]
caused
the
Arachthos
River
to
rip
the
bridge's
foundations
from
the
riverbanks[14]
leading
the
central
section
of
the
bridge
to
collapse
and
be
washed
away.[13]
The
next
day,
Alternate
Minister
of
Infrastructure
Christos
Spirtzis
and
representatives
of
the
Culture
Ministry
travelled
to
the
region
to
assess
the
situation
and
announced
that
it
was
technically
feasible
to
restore
the
historic
bridge.[10]
Experts
assessed
the
damage.
The
materials
would
be
recovered
from
the
river
once
water
levels
have
fallen.[9]
As
of
July
2020,
restoration
work,
supported
by
the
National
Technical
University
of
Athens
is
over,
and
the
rebuilt
bridge
was
completed
in
the
summer
of
2020.[15][16]
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