The “old bridge” and its neighbourhood in the Old Town of Mostar are classified as a UNESCO World Heritage Site
The croato-bosniac war in the early 1990s caused many victims, both human and architectural. One of the most famous among them was Old Mostar bridge . Once one of the most emblematic monuments in Bosnia and the former Yugoslavia, the bridge was destroyed by the Croatian armed forces on 9 November 1993. It is difficult to understand why the Croatian army would have destroyed a historic bridge, with the exception of an act of revenge (there were many on each side of the conflict), especially since the bridge had no military significance.
Flickr – jaime.silva
The bridge, a masterpiece of Ottoman Turkish architecture, was commissioned by no other than Soliman the Magnificent, and designed by Mimar Hayruddin , a student of the famous Sinan . The construction began in 1557 and lasted nine years to be completed in 1566. Elegant in its simplicity, the bridge consists of a single arc of 30 meters long, 24 meters high and 4 meters wide, connecting the steep banks of the Neretva River. Two rounds (the Helebija tower on the right bank and the Tara tower on the left bank) protect the bridge entrances. These massive stone structures offer a striking contrast to silhouette profile of the bridge, merely highlighting its beauty.
The city of Mostar even owes its name to the bridge, most meaning "bridge" in serbo-croate. After the end of the war in Bosnia, the bridge was reconstructed between 2001 and 2004. Many original stones were recovered from the bottom of the river. The rest was replaced by new blocks of stone exploited in the same quarries used for the construction of the original bridge. A coalition of international organizations led by the World Bank and UNESCO funded reconstruction.
Flickr – G D
Dive into the river from the highest point of the bridge was a test of courage for the young men of the region as long as we can remember. Official annual dive competitions began in 1968, and are still organized each summer.
This video will certainly make you want to go to Mostar to watch for hours the "Stari Most" bridge and the premises that dive from here:
What to visit in Mostar?
The small town of Mostar, much more than the capital Sarajevo, is the most tourist in Bosnia. Besides the old bridge of Mostar there are many other buildings, museums and places:
- The Old Bridge Museum, right next to the Stari Most
- The Old Town of Mostar and the Tourist District
- The Karadoz-beg Mosque
- Koski Mehmed-Pacha Mosque
- The Ottoman house Muslibegovic
- The Franciscan Church (Franjevačka crkva with the largest bell in the country)
- The Bišcevic alley lined with Turkish houses
- The old hamlet of Brankovac with houses and gardens of traditional Ottoman style houses
- The old village of Blagaj, not far
- Ruište Natural Park with the Prenj Mountains (where the "Boy Lys" grows)
- The Nature Reserve “Dita Grabovica”, almost in the primitive state
- The " Plateau (Blato)", a hill that dominates the city, in its western part
- The house of Aleksa Šantić, the greatest poet of Mostar
- The Museum of Herzegovina
If you are planning to stay in Mostar, search our website Compare hotels .
Flickr – Lassi Kurkijärvi
Flickr – Ljiljan BiH
Flickr – Lassi Kurkijärvi
Flickr – Sylvia Gutiérrez Sánchez
It is possible to reach Mostar from Dubrovnik, Croatia:
Did you visit Mostar and his old bridge?
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