Berta Bridge

Berta Bridge is a three-arched cut-stone bridge in the central district of Artvin, taking its name from the old settlement of Berta, today known as Ortaköy. It stands at the 21st kilometre of the Artvin-Şavşat highway, spanning the Berta stream (Okçular Deresi), a tributary that feeds the Çoruh River. Because it bears no inscription its exact construction date is unknown, but it is generally accepted to have been built by the Ottomans in the second half of the 19th century, before the region passed to Tsarist Russian rule in 1878, owing to its strategic position on a key mountain route. The bridge is 64.20 metres long, about 5 metres wide and 7.3 metres high, with each of its arches spanning 9.15 metres and rising 3.3 metres. With its rounded arches and plain, undecorated masonry it is regarded as the sole surviving three-arched example of the region's typical Ottoman bridges, a tangible trace of the Çoruh basin's historic road network and stone-bridge tradition.

The Reservoir & Its Reappearing Bridge

The bridge's most dramatic feature is that it was submerged beneath the reservoir when the Deriner Dam began impounding water in 2012; to keep the route open, a modern high bridge roughly 125 metres tall and 340 metres long was built just beside it. As a result the historic bridge usually lies beneath the turquoise reservoir and becomes visible only when drought or spring drawdowns lower the water level, an event that regularly makes local news. These 're-emergence' moments have turned it into one of the region's most intriguing cultural curiosities.

Visiting, Access & Tips

For agencies, Berta Bridge is a boutique, niche stop. It is programmed as a short photo-and-story pause on the transfer route between central Artvin (Livane Castle, Zeytinlik Quarter) and the Şavşat-Karagöl or Ardanuç-Cehennem Deresi branches, usually paired with the Deriner Dam viewpoint. Rather than a standalone destination, it works as an en-route stop combining lake scenery with the dam's story. The average visit lasts 15-25 minutes and rarely exceeds half an hour. Access is easy on paved highway, and because the site sits directly on the main road it is comfortably reached by private car or coach; there is limited but adequate roadside pull-in parking for tour buses. The descent toward the shoreline is steep and irregular, so wheelchair and disabled access is restricted, and visitors mostly take in the view from road level and the viewpoints.

Route & Best Time

The best time to visit is late spring, when the water drops, and the clear autumn months; summer greenery and autumn colour are ideal for photography, while in winter the road stays open but can be foggy, wet and icy. Peak season runs July to September. The best photo spots are the wide angles over the lake from the modern bridge and the Deriner viewing terraces, and the shoreline where the old arches surface when the water recedes. Recommended route: central Artvin → Deriner Dam viewpoint → Berta Bridge photo stop → Ardanuç/Cehennem Deresi or the Şavşat-Karagöl direction.