Some more info translated by google so do not judge
God's Bridge
Lilyache, Vratsa district
"God's Bridge" is a geotope of aesthetic value, composed of two natural rock bridges, representing karst formations among the limestone limestone near the village of Lilyache, Vratsa district (43.31479, 23.55203). It was declared a natural landmark in 1964. The site is 260 m above sea level and is 2 km east of the village of Lilyache along a dirt road parallel to the Lilyachka river.
From a geological point of view, the phenomenon falls into the West Forebalkan and is formed among the lower carbonate rocks formed about 120 million years ago. The layers are slightly inclined and sink at an angle of 8-10 ° to the northeast. They are known as "upper Uralian limestones" and "upper orbitoline layers", later referred to the Lytibrod group consisting of the two banks of the Iskar river near the village of Lutybrod, Vratsa. The upper Uralian limestone, including the cave, is a solid, dense, clean, bioclastic limestone with a CaCO 3 contentto 98%. The bridge bridges are made of sandy organogenic limestones and fossils with fossils of mesozoic marine fauna - orbitolins, mussels, snails, sea urchins, brachypods and ammonites characteristic of the Apt century of the Early Cretaceous. They are referred to the so-called "upper orbitolines", among which is the geological phenomenon "Ritlite" in the village of Lutybrod.
The natural rock bridges are the remains of a semi-open cave (1) . Although there are two, among the local population the phenomenon is known as "God's Bridge". They are formed by the waters of the Lilyachka River, which in the near-past geological past has flowed as an underground karst stream (2,3) . Later surface erosion led to the discovery of the cave, where parts of the vault and the walls (4,5) were preserved .
The formation of God's bridges began after the discovery of the cave on the surface tens of thousands of years ago. Originally, erosion forms openings in the ceiling of the cave through which the Lilyashka River was flowing. They form a number of karst forms similar to the current rock bridges. Subsequently their vaults are destroyed by natural erosion processes and the cave turns into a river valley (6.7) .
God's bridges are an impressive natural formation that impresses with its size and perfection. In its impor- tance, it can only be compared with the Wonderful Bridges in the Erkupriya area in the Rhodope Mountains and the Prohodna Rock Bridge near the village of Karlukovo, Pleven.
When it was declared a natural landmark in 1964, along with the Lilyachka River Canyon and the Jabokryak Karst Spring, the site was named "God's Bridges". The height of the eastern opening in its highest part is about 20 m (8) and the width in the widest part is 25 m (9) below . The light hole is trapezoid. In the middle, the thickness of the arch reaches 12 m, and under the bridge there is a huge hall with a width of 20 m, height of 17 m and length of about 60 m with smaller cave openings (10) .
Западният мост е по-нисък и с по-малък отвор (11). Сега той почти не се забелязва сред обилната растителност. Под него също има голяма зала, която по размери не отстъпва на тази под източния мост, но е затрупана с много варовикови блокове от свода с размери до 3-4 m. Между двете зали има живописен проход с височина 6-7 m, под който има непресъхващо езеро с размери 25 на 15 m (12). Вътрешността е осветена от естествените отблясъци. В западната и източната зала също има езера, чиито размери силно варират в зависимост от сезона, но не надминават 30-40 m. По течението на реката двата моста са с дължина около 120 m.
Despite its high aesthetic value, God's Bridge is not very popular and has remained in the shadow of another local phenomenon, the Vratsata, which is of national importance and is visited not only by tourists, but also by climbers, biologists, archaeologists and others. The geotope is not included in tourist routes and is not visited by tourists because it is not sufficiently popular. It is located close to the historic Milin Kamak boulder, where hikes are organized annually in the footsteps of Botev's cheta.
From the point of view of biodiversity, "God's Bridges" have not been the subject of special research. They are a habitat of crows, owls, owls and bats.
From a speleological point of view, cave openings in the western hall are located at a height of about 5-6 m.
On the south side of the bridges there are remnants of a fortress wall of supposed Roman origin (14) . It was the subject of restoration work in the eighties of the last century.
Legends are also missing, but they look more like treasures of treasure. According to the local population, the cave was the residence of Constantine and Elena. Queen Elena, who was a hardworking woman, ordered a golden loom that had been stored somewhere in the cave's moves and has not been found to this day.
In 2008, God's Bridge was the subject of the Student Geological Expedition "Iskarski Gorge 2008", realized under the current project with co-financing of the University of Mining and Geology "St. Ivan Rilski ". During the expedition the site was evaluated as a geotope with continental significance according to the original methodology developed for the Register and Cadastre of Geological Phenomena in Bulgaria of the Ministry of Environment and Water.
Author: Dimitar Sinyovski
