On November 6, 1954, the Alexander Stamboliyski Dam, also known as the Rositsa Dam, was ceremonially inaugurated near the village of Gorsko Kosovo. The facility was built during the brigadier movement and became one of Bulgaria’s major hydroengineering projects in the 1950s.
The dam is located on the border between the regions of Veliko Tarnovo and Gabrovo, near Gorsko Kosovo in the municipality of Suhindol and approximately 18 km south of Pavlikeni. Its reservoir collects the waters of the Rositsa and Vidima rivers. At the time of its inauguration, the artificial lake was nearly 18 km long and covered an area of approximately 11 sq. km.
Construction with youth brigades
The work on the dam was presented as a nationwide endeavor. Youth brigades took part in the construction, with work carried out in three shifts at the site. According to data published in the newspaper “Stroitel,” approximately 600,000 cu. m of excavation, 450,000 cu. m of backfilling, 116,000 cu. m of concrete and 160,000 cu. m of screed were completed. Around 16,000 m of drilling was also carried out.
The dam wall is 66 m high, while the length of its crest is approximately 300 m. The hydroelectric complex is intended for irrigating agricultural land and generating electricity. Three hydroelectric power plants have been built along the Rositsa system.
“Alexander Stamboliyski” is among the first newly built dams constructed in the 1950s, the National Electric Company (NEK) notes.Differences in the volume data
Historical and technical reports contain similar but different figures for the reservoir’s parameters. The 1958 statistical yearbook lists a capacity of 222 million cu. m and an area of 10.9 sq. km. Documentation on water management gives a total reservoir volume of 220 million cu. m, a usable volume of 200 million cu. m and a flooded area of 11.44 sq. km.
This means that the figure of 220 million cu. m, often used when describing the dam, refers to the total reservoir volume rather than the usable volume. The difference stems from the various technical indicators and the way the data were presented in historical reference books.
The National Statistical Institute lists the Alexander Stamboliyski Dam among the reservoirs commissioned in 1954. Some later technical studies also cite 1953 as the year it entered operation, but the ceremonial inauguration is dated November 6, 1954.
Sources: bta.bg, vestnikstroitel.bg, old.nsi.bg