Petrohan Pass, Mountain pass in Balkan Mountains, Bulgaria.
Petrohan Pass is a 24.1 km saddle in Bulgaria's western Stara Planina, between Koznitsa Mountain to the east and Berkovska Mountain to the west. The road starts at 1,130 m at the northern edge of Gintsi, climbs 6 km to the 1,409 m summit, then descends 17.2 km to Barzia at 515 m. It carries a 24.1 km section of Republican Road II-81 from Sofia to Montana and Lom.
The pass was already used in Roman times. In 1868 a road was built through it and Petar Angelov of Berkovitsa opened an inn on the saddle; the combination of his name and the inn gave the pass its name Petrohan. Plans for a tunnel under the saddle date from before 1990.
The pass takes its name from Petar Angelov of Berkovitsa, who built a roadside inn (han) on the saddle in 1868; the combination of his name and the inn gave rise to "Petrohan". Today the saddle has a weather station, a restaurant, a petrol station, a motel and the Petrohan balancing reservoir.
The paved road stays open most of the year but becomes slippery during winter and demands careful driving. Travelers should check weather forecasts before crossing and keep their vehicles in good condition.
Plans for a tunnel under the pass date from before 1990 and were revived with the Vidin–Calafat Danube bridge and Pan-European Corridor IV. A tunnel would shorten the Sofia–Vidin route by 100 km and put Vratsa only 30 km away. In December 2013, after talks in China by National Assembly chairman Mihail Mikov, the China Development Bank declared readiness to invest in the tunnel.
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