What is "iskar"

The Iskar ( ; ; Ancient Greek: Οἶσκος) is, with a length of 368 km, the longest river that runs solely in Bulgaria, and a tributary of the Danube.

The Iskar is formed by three rivers, the Chèrni (black) Iskar, Bèli (white) Iskar and Lèvi (left) Iskar (known under the collective name Ìskrove), with the source being accepted to be the Prav (straight) Iskar, a tributary of the Cherni Iskar. After descending from the north slopes of Rila, it fills the Iskar Reservoir—the largest in Bulgaria and the Lake Pancharevo. The river runs through the outskirts of Sofia and passes through a rocky gorge in the Balkan Mountains. It flows into the Danube near the village of Gigen in Pleven Province. The Iskar is the only river to take its source from southern Bulgaria and cross the Balkan Mountains to flow into the Danube.

The Iskar flows through seven provinces of Bulgaria: the capital city of Sofia, Sofia Province, Pernik Province, Vratsa Province, Pleven Province and Lovech Province. This is the main source of water for Sofiyskavoda, the water and sewarage company in Sofia.

In terms of geology, the Iskar is the oldest river in the Balkans and also the only one to have preserved its original direction despite the significant geological changes in later stages.

Iskar (, ; also transliterated as Iskur or Iskǎr; former name Pelovo) is a town in central northern Bulgaria, part of Pleven Province. It is the administrative centre of Iskar Municipality, which lies in the western part of the Province. The town of Iskar is located in the central Danubian Plain, near the Iskar River, 18 kilometres from Knezha and 32 kilometres from the provincial capital of Pleven. As of December 2009, the town has a population of 3,622 inhabitants.

According to the tradition, Iskar was founded in the early 17th century as a hamlet of around 20 houses near the river. It was known as Mahalata, Gorum Mahala and Pisarevska Mahala. A private school was opened in 1829 and the church of Saint Demetrius with a religious school was built in 1837. Vasil Levski founded a secret revolutionary committee in the village in 1872. Following the Liberation of Bulgaria, a new school was built in 1897, with an additional storey added in 1924; the modern school building was inaugurated in 1999.

Iskar may refer to:

• Iskar River, a river in western Bulgaria
• Iskar Reservoir, situated on the Iskar River
• Iskar, Pleven Province = Iskar (town) (merge!), a town in the Iskar Municipality of the Pleven Province
• Iskar Municipality
• Iskar, Sofia, one of 24 municipalities in the Bulgaria's Sofia (city) province
• Iskar, Varna Province, a village in the Valchi Dol Municipality of Varna Province
• Iskar-panega Geopark
• Iskar Stadium, Samokov, Sofia Province
• Iskar Gorge

• Iskar, Afghanistan

• Iskar Glacier, Livingston Island, Antarctica