The Covered Bridge is, as the name suggests, a covered bridge

Covered bridge

A covered bridge is a bridge with enclosed sides and a roof, often accommodating only a single lane of traffic. Most covered bridges are wooden; some newer ones are concrete or metal with glass sides...

 in the town of Lovech

Lovech

Lovech is a town in north-central Bulgaria with a population of 36,296 as of February 2011. It is the administrative centre of the Lovech Province and of the subordinate Lovech Municipality. The town is located about 150 km northeast from the capital city of Sofia...

, Bulgaria

Bulgaria

Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...

. The bridge crosses the Osam River, connecting the old (Varоsha) and new town parts of Lovech, being possibly the most recognisable symbol of the town.

After the bridge that then served the town was almost completely destroyed by a flood in 1872, the local police chief ordered the famous Bulgarian master builder Kolyu Ficheto

Kolyu Ficheto

Nikola Fichev , commonly known as Kolyu Ficheto , was a Bulgarian National Revival architect, builder and sculptor born in Dryanovo in 1800....

to construct a new one. Ficheto personally chose the material for the wooden bridge. Each citizen of Lovech contributed to the building process, the poorer ones working themselves and the wealthier donating money and paying other workers. Building finished in 1874.

The initial bridge had a length of 84 m and 6 vents and accommodated 64 shops. It was, however, wholly destroyed by fire on the night of 2 to 3 August 1925. A more modern bridge was constructed at its place in 1931 only to be replaced by a reconstruction of Kolyu Ficheto's design in 1981-1982. The current bridge is 106 m long and has 14 shops, the architect being Zlatev.