Uzunköprü

Uzunköprü

Uzunköprü
Uzunköprü is located in Turkey
Uzunköprü
Location of Uzunköprü in Turkey
Coordinates: 41°16′10″N 26°41′10″E / 41.26944°N 26.68611°E / 41.26944; 26.68611Coordinates: 41°16′10″N 26°41′10″E / 41.26944°N 26.68611°E / 41.26944; 26.68611
Country  Turkey
Region Marmara Region
Province Edirne
Government
 - Mayor Enis İşbilen (CHP)
Area
 - City 1,213 km2 (468.3 sq mi)
Population (2010)
 - Density 60.6/km2 (157/sq mi)
 Urban 40,154
Time zone EET (UTC+2)
 - Summer (DST) EEST (UTC+3)
Postal code 22200
Area code(s) +(90)284
Website [1]

Uzunköprü is a small town and a district of Edirne Province in northwestern Turkey.

It is on the railway line from Istanbul towards Sofia, Belgrade and western Europe, and a frontier post on the Greek border.

Long Bridge

The "Long Bridge" (Turkish: Uzunköprü) gave its name to the town. The bridge was built between 1426 and 1443 by head architect Muslihiddin on the orders of Ottoman Sultan Murad II. The ancient stone-built bridge, which has 174 arches, is 1,329 m (4,360 ft) long and up to 6.80 m (22.3 ft) wide. Some of the arches are pointed and some are round. Uzunköprü is the longest stone bridge in Turkey.

The bridge was made to cross the Ergene River, which was a natural barrier for advances into the Balkans for the Ottoman Empire; its old name was Ergene Bridge (Ottoman Turkish: Cisr-i Ergene). It is so long in order to cross a low-lying marshy area. The bridge was restored in 1963.

The EdirneIzmir state road still passes over Uzunkopru.


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