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The Remains of the Bridge of Pasa
As we move from Siatista to Grevena via the old national road, a few kilometers after the crossroad of Mpara and before village Kokkinia, the remains of another large bridge are visible to the left, an accessible dirt road and a peculiar rock right next to the river which still enhances the exquisite landscape to this day. There, at the banks of Aliakmonas, Greece’s largest river, there used to be Macedonia’s biggest stone bridge. It was a marvelous work of traditional architecture and the only bridge built on the river’s main stream.
The bridge was built in 1806 and was funded by a pasha, to thank God for saving one of his women that had fallen into the deep waters. The bridge was dynamited by the English army in April 14, 1941, to prevent the Germans from crossing it. Eventually, the German army found another way to cross, from a spot where the river was milder. The bridge, however, had been destroyed for ever. Pouqueville mentions it in his book Journey to Western Macedonia. He writes that it used to have five arches, each of different length. According to oral tradition, there was a bell under its big arch as crossing it was quite dangerous, due to its height. Even brides had to unmount their horses before crossing it. Its total length was some