Stari Most, Mostar

모스타르 스타리 모스트

Stari Most, meaning "Old Bridge", is a stone bridge over the Neretva River in Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina. It was built for the Ottoman sultan Suleiman the Magnificent and is a single hump-backed arch about 30 metres long and 4 metres wide, rising about 24 metres above the river. The city of Mostar is named after the mostari, the bridge keepers who guarded it.

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At a glance

Country: Bosnia & Herzegovina
Location: Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Built: 1566
Height: 24 m
Type: Bridge

Quick answers

Where is Stari Most, Mostar?

Stari Most, Mostar is in Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bosnia & Herzegovina.

When was Stari Most, Mostar built?

Stari Most, Mostar was built in 1566.

How tall is Stari Most, Mostar?

Stari Most, Mostar is about 24 m tall.

An Ottoman stone bridge arching 24 m above the Neretva; destroyed in the 1993 war and rebuilt in 2004.

The bridge was destroyed on 9 November 1993 during the war in Bosnia, then rebuilt and reopened on 23 July 2004. UNESCO added the bridge and the old centre of Mostar to the World Heritage List in 2005. It is seen as an example of Balkan Islamic architecture and as a symbol of connection between different communities.

Built for a sultan

Suleiman ordered the bridge in 1557. It replaced a wooden bridge hung on chains, which swayed so much that people crossing it were frightened. The architect was Mimar Hayruddin, a student of the famous builder Sinan. Work took nine years, finishing between 1566 and 1567.

The bridge has no foundations in the river: it rests on limestone abutments tied into the cliffs. Legend says Hayruddin was ordered to build it on pain of death and prepared for his own funeral on the day the scaffolding came down. When finished, it was the widest human-made arch in the world.

Destruction and rebuilding

In 1993, during the war, the bridge was shelled and collapsed. Within weeks Spanish military engineers in a United Nations mission built a temporary bridge in just three days.

After the war a group including the World Bank, UNESCO, the Aga Khan Trust for Culture and the World Monuments Fund oversaw the rebuilding. Experts used Ottoman methods and local limestone, and divers raised stones from the river to help.

Bridge diving

Young local men have long jumped from the bridge into the cold Neretva. Records of dives go back to 1664, and an official diving competition has been held every summer since 1968.

The bridge is guarded by two towers, Halebija on the northeast bank and Tara on the southwest bank.