Iskar Reservoir

Directions

язовир Искър

The Iskar Reservoir is the largest reservoir in Bulgaria. It lies on the Iskar river and provides most of the drinking water for the capital Sofia, and it also produces hydroelectricity. The first plans for a dam on the Iskar date from 1900 and 1901, soon after the Pancharevo hydroelectric power plant was built. The idea was raised again in 1921 but failed, because the municipality could not compensate the residents of the nearby villages of Gorni Pasarel, Shishmanovo and Kalkovo.

How it formed

Preparatory work began in 1949 and main construction in late 1950, and the lake was officially opened on 6 September 1954. The concrete dam is about 75 m high and 204 m long, and the reservoir is fed by the Iskar and the Shipochanitsa. Its volume has varied widely, falling to a low of 54 million m³ in April 1994, when Sofia’s water was rationed.

History

The design was approved in 1949. It is said to be the work of Ivan Ivanov, a former mayor of Sofia, who was pardoned from a death sentence and worked under militia supervision. During construction, the project was renamed the “Giant Stalin Dam”, a name that was dropped in 1962.

Gallery

3 photos

Photo: No machine-readable author provided. Preslav~commonswiki assumed (based on copyright claims). · Public domain

Photo: MrPanyGoff · CC BY-SA 3.0

Photo: Original uploader was Elena Chochkova (Елена Чочкова) at bg.wikipedia · CC BY 2.5

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Visit

Getting there

Nearest settlement: Sofia

Swimming

No reliable information

Tips

Iskar is a popular weekend destination for people from Sofia. It is free to enter and open at any hour, and it suits paddleboarding, windsurfing, sailing, fishing and camping; kayak tours run from Sofia, and an early start beats the wind. Catfish, pike, trout, carp and chub are among the fish, so check the rules and any permit before fishing. Some shores are used recreationally, but other areas are restricted or discouraged, so ask locally.

Road II-82 runs below the dam through the Pancharevo gorge, about 22 km long, past Dolni Pasarel and its 15th-century monastery, Kokalyane Monastery and the ruins of Urvich fortress. Buy supplies in Sofia or a larger town first, since the options near the reservoir are limited.