Reconstructed Old Bridge

In the archives of Dubrovnik, 1452 is the year the first time the location of the town of Mostar was mentioned under the name « duo castelli al ponte de Neretva«. Mostar becomes part of the Ottoman Empire 1468 and in the Ottoman books Mostar is mentioned for the first time, as a town in which there is a bridge with towers.

The already existing bridge that was found by the Osmanli was wooden, weak and insecure and therefore could not fulfill the needs of the town.
Following the command of the sultan Sulejman the Great, in the place of the existing bridge was to begin the construction of a stoned bridge that finished in 1566.
Mimar Hajrudin, the student of the most famous constructor of the Ottoman Empire Mimar Sinana, built the bridge.The arch of the Old Bridge was made out of stone TENELIJE that was found in large amounts in the locality near the bridge.Many travel writers described the bridge as one of the most beautiful bridges in the world.During the time of war on November 9th the bridge was destroyed.

Already in 1997 the first negotiations began with the World Bank about the reconstruction of the Old Bridge.The reconstruction project is financed by the partnership of the local community, the Bosnian and Herzegovinian government, the World Bank, Unesco and the donations of the Italian, Turkish, Dutch and Croatian governments. The reconstructed Old Bridge in Mostar is formally opened on July 23rd of this year.