PARTS OF BULGARIA’S LONGEST RIVER FREEZE

On 5th of January, after 5 consecutive days of record low temperatures, the river Iskar froze in the section near the North Bulgarian town of Mezdra. A several centimeters thick ice cover was formed in the sections where the current was slow.

Local people say this happened after a break of several years and consider it a sign that the river becomes cleaner. According to popular belief, the best omen for good health and fertility is when rivers freeze at Epiphany.

On the eve of Epiphany, the thick layer of ice covered the Iskar river at the exit of the gorge. Volunteers started to clear the bridge from the snow near the fortress of Kaleto to prepare it for the cross-throwing ceremony, which takes place every year on 6th of January, the Epiphany , during which young men dive into the icy cold waters to retrieve the cross, cast by a priest.

Miraculously, the water has not frozen at the place where the ceremony is going to take place and therefore there will be no need of ice-breaking.