2012Europa - Old Bridge - Set

Mostar is a city in the valley of the River Neretva, in southern Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is the economic, cultural, educational, commercial and tourist centre of Herzegovina. Numerous archeological sites confirm that the broader area of Mostar has been inhabited since the Early Eneolitich, while during the Roman rule the area was inhabited by Illyrian tribes.
The city was named after bridge keepers (natively: mostari) who guarded wooden bridge which connected two banks of the River Neretva and for the first time the name Mostar is mentioned in the 15th century. After the fall of Bosnia under the Ottoman Empire, the Turks built the stone bridge in 1566, today famous as the Old Bridge. After the Berlin congress in 1878, the Turkish administration was removed by Austro-Hungarian administration. The valuable cultural monuments, oriental style buildings and Austro-Hungarian buildings have remained from that period which makes Mostar beautiful and interesting city.
The Old Bridge was destroyed during the terrible destructions in the last war from 1992 till 1996. It was renovated in 2004 and in 2005 it was included in the UNESCO list of protected monuments of cultural heritage as the first monument from Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Croatian Lodge "Herceg Stjepan Kosaca“, the center of cultural events of the city of Mostar, was built in 1959/1960. It is named after the ruler of Herzegovina, Duke Stjepan Vukcic Kosaca (around 1404-1466).
Today, Mostar is beautiful and hospitable city that enriches the different cultures and traditions with its beauty that makes it the city of open doors.