Podkowa (Kardzhali Oblast)
| Podkowa (Подкова) | |||||
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| Basic data | |||||
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| State : |
 Bulgaria
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| Oblast : | Kardzhali | ||||
| Residents : | 435 (May 10, 2009) | ||||
| Coordinates : | 41 ° 24 ′ N , 25 ° 24 ′ E | ||||
| Height : | 331 m | ||||
| Postal code : | 6880 | ||||
| Telephone code : | (+359) (0) 3671 | ||||
| License plate : | K | ||||
| administration | |||||
| Mayor : | Awni Ismail | ||||
Podkowa [ podˈkɔvɐ ] ( Bulgarian Подкова 'horseshoe' ) is a village in southern Bulgaria , in Kardzhali Oblast , in the municipality of Kirkovo .
The village is located in the Rhodope Mountains , at the confluence of the Kazalach and Warbiza rivers, 25 kilometers north of the future Makaza border crossing.
Pan-European transport corridor
2004-2008 a road was built as an extension from Podkowa to Makaza to create another border crossing to Greece as a connection between the Aegean Sea and the Upper Thracian Plain .
This connection is to become part of Pan-European Transport Corridor No. 9, a connection between the North Sea and the Mediterranean Sea, from Finland via Russia, Ukraine, Moldova, Romania and Bulgaria to Greece ( Helsinki - Saint Petersburg (Russia) - Kiev (Ukraine) - Bucharest ( Romania ) - Russian - Komotini - to Alexandroupoli ).
The Bulgarian section leads from Russe - Veliko Tarnovo - Kazanlak - Stara Sagora - Dimitrovgrad (Bulgaria) - Haskowo - Kardzhali - Chirpan to Makasa (Bulgaria). The Bulgarian-Greek border crossing in Makaza (Bulgaria) had not been completed for a few years (until 2013) because there was no supraregional transport axis on the Greek side. In 2013 the new Makaza-Nimfea border crossing was inaugurated. Via this now the Bulgarian national road 5, which previously ended at Podkova, connects the national road A23 (Bulgarian-Greek border to Egnatia motorway A2, AK Komotini East) over the new Greek so-called "vertical axis of the Rhodope Mountains" City of Kardzhali and the Bulgarian Maritza motorway with Komotini (Greek administrative region of East Macedonia and Thrace).
This shortens the distance from the Greek Aegean Sea to Plovdiv or north towards the Danube-Bucharest by approx. 2 hours.
In addition to the Makaza-Nimphea border crossing (Маказа-Нимфеа), two other border crossings are planned: Elijhe-Echino (Елидже-Ехино) and Ivaylovgrad-Kiprinos (Ивайловград-Кипринос).
The southernmost railway station in Bulgaria is located in Podkowa (although it is threatened with closure). Originally, this railway line (1939) was also planned as a connection to the Aegean Sea to Alexandroupoli , but ends in Podkowa.
mosque
The seven virgins mosque in the village is one of the oldest in Bulgaria. It was built without nails. According to legend, it was built by seven girls whose loved ones did not return from the war. They sold their belongings to buy the building materials for the mosque and built the mosque in a single night. After that you never saw her again. That happened on May 6th, so on this day the people of the area gathers in the courtyard of the mosque, reads from the Koran and says prayers.