Stari Most (Old Bridge)

Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina

A UNESCO World Heritage Ottoman bridge over the Neretva River, originally built by the architect Mimar Hayruddin under orders from Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent. Destroyed in 1993 during the Bosnian War and reconstructed in 2004.

Historical Context

The bridge was commissioned by Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent to replace an older wooden bridge and was completed in 1566 by the architect Mimar Hayruddin, who had trained in the circle of Mimar Sinan. The construction was considered so audacious that, according to legend, Hayruddin prepared his own funeral before the scaffolding was removed, expecting the bridge to collapse under its own weight. When it stood, it was celebrated as a miracle of engineering. For over four centuries, the bridge served as the vital link between the eastern and western banks of Mostar — connecting Muslim and Christian neighborhoods and symbolizing the multiethnic character of Ottoman Bosnia. On November 9, 199…