The Yantra ( ) is a river in northern Bulgaria, a right tributary of the Danube. Reaching a length of 285 km, it is the seventh longest river in Bulgaria and the third longest Bulgarian tributary of the Danube. In the middle and lower course, the Yantra takes many turns forming numerous gorges. It has a high sinuosity index of 3.1, which is characteristic for meandering rivers. Its catchment spans a territory of 7,862 km<sup>2</sup> and has a small mean slope value 4.6‰ with a mean altitude of 470 m.
The city of Veliko Tarnovo, situated on several hills overlooking the river along its middle course, served as the capital of the Second Bulgarian Empire in the 12–14th centuries, and remains an important cultural, economic and tourist center in Bulgaria. Another major city on the river is Gabrovo, an early education and industrial hub of the country.
Geography
Course
thumb|left|The Yantra at [[Gabrovo by Felix Philipp Kanitz]]
The Yantra takes its source at an altitude of 1,220 m on the northern foothills of the summit of Atovo Padalo (1,495 m) in the Shipka division of the Balkan Mountains, very close to the historical summit of Buzludzha (1,432 m). Until the city of Gabrovo it flows northwest in a deep valley covered with forests of European beech (Fagus sylvatica). Between Gabrovo and the village of Yantra the river forms the Strazha Gorge through the homonymous plateau, its valley then widens and arable lands appear along its terraces. the Stara reka (92 km), the Rositsa (164 km), the Eliyska reka (32 km) and the Strudena (45 km). Other major rivers within the Yantra basin include the Golyama reka (75 km), the Veselina (70 km) and the Vidima (68 km).
The Yantra has a mixed feed of snow, rain and karst waters. Snow and rain feed is prevalent in the Balkan Mountains and the fore-Balkan, rain in the Danubian Plain and underground karst water in the fore-Balkan. A total of 64 fish species have been recorded from the Yantra, of them 55 are autochthonous. Many of the local fishes are of conservation importance and are protected, including Kessler's gudgeon, Danubian longbarbel gudgeon, Danube whitefin gudgeon, spined loach, Balkan golden loach, Balon's ruffe, striped ruffe, weatherfish, Balkan loach, Danube streber, zingel, European bitterling, asp, sabrefish, Romanian barbel, Ukrainian brook lamprey, etc.
Along the river valley between Byala and Veliko Tarnovo passes a section of major railway line Ruse–Stara Zagora–Podkova served by the Bulgarian State Railways.
Landmarks
A few kilometers south the Yantra's source stands the Buzludzha monument, a memorial inaugurated in 1981 by the Bulgarian Communist Party, whose futurist architecture, impressive surrounding and melancholic atmosphere of decay has gained increased international popularity in recent years. The uppermost part of the river falls within the boundaries of the Bulgarka Nature Park. Along the river banks south of Gabrovo is located the Etar Architectural-Ethnographic Complex, an open-air museums featuring the architecture, way of life and economy of region during the Bulgarian National Revival. In Gabrovo, a city renown for the humour, the statue of its legendary founders Racho the Blacksmith was placed on a rock in the Yantra, so that the residents would not waste money on flowers on the monument.
Further upstream the river passes through the city of Veliko Tarnovo, the capital of the Second Bulgarian Empire, forming a meandering gorge. The Transfiguration Monastery is situated over the left bank of the river in the Dervent Gorge some 7 km north of Veliko Tarnovo.
Close to the town of Byala along its lower course, the river is crossed by the 19th century arched Byala Bridge, an important landmark of the Bulgarian National Revival architecture, constructed by the architect Kolyu Ficheto.
Gallery
<gallery mode="packed">
File:The bridge of the Yoke (Slavery), Gabrovo.jpg | The Yantra at Gabrovo
File:Bulgaria Bulgaria-0894 - Yantra River (7433405358).jpg | The Yantra at Veliko Tarnovo
File:Мост на Кольо Фичето гр. Бяла.jpg | The Yantra at Byala
File:Jantra ved Belcov mot vest.JPG | The Yantra at Beltsov
</gallery>