Stari Most

Stari Most, the Old Bridge, spans the Neretva River in the heart of Mostar in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It was commissioned by Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent and built between 1557 and 1566 by the Ottoman architect Mimar Hayruddin, a student of the great Sinan. Its single pointed arch of local limestone spans roughly 29 metres and rises about 20 metres above the river, a daring design that replaced an earlier wooden suspension bridge. The bridge is flanked by two fortified towers, Halebija on the left bank and Tara on the right, which once guarded the crossing and gave Mostar its name, derived from the Slavic word for bridge keepers. The surrounding Old Town, the Kujundžiluk bazaar and the Koski Mehmed Pasha Mosque form one of the best-preserved Ottoman-era ensembles in the Balkans. On 9 November 1993, during the Bosnian War, the bridge collapsed into the Neretva after sustained shelling, an event broadcast worldwide. A reconstruction led by international partners, using stone quarried locally and traditional techniques, was completed and the bridge reopened on 23 July 2004. In 2005 the bridge and Old City were inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List. Today the humped, polished stone span is steep and slippery, with cross-ribs cut into the paving for grip. The Halebija tower houses exhibitions on the bridge's construction and the 1990s destruction, and the Tara tower contains a small museum with views from its upper level. A local diving tradition continues from the parapet into the cold river, and an annual diving competition takes place each July. Visitors typically cross on foot, photograph the bridge from the Crooked Bridge or the riverside terraces, and combine the visit with the nearby Muslibegović House and Biscevic House museums. The bridge itself is free and open at all hours, while the tower museum charges a modest fee.