Stari Most (the Old Bridge)
On Gingerguide's self-guided Mostar audio tour, Stari Most (the Old Bridge) is a stop worth about ~30 min. Stand in front of it, press play for a short narrated story, and put any follow-up question to the built-in AI guide.
- Type bridge
- Suggested visit ~30 min
- Mostar Mostar guide
About Stari Most (the Old Bridge)
Mostar's soul: the single-arch Ottoman bridge over the Neretva, built in 1566, destroyed in the 1990s war and rebuilt stone by stone, now a UNESCO symbol of reconciliation.
Stari Most, the Old Bridge, is the single-arch Ottoman stone bridge that leaps the green Neretva at the heart of Mostar, and it gives the city both its skyline and its name, after the mostari, the bridge keepers who once guarded it. Commissioned by Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent and designed by Mimar Hayruddin, a pupil of the great imperial architect Sinan, it was completed in 1566, replacing a swaying wooden bridge hung on chains. A single humped arch about thirty metres long rises some twenty metres above the river, guarded at each end by the Tara and Halebija towers.
On 9 November 1993, during the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the bridge was destroyed, brought down by shelling from Croatian Defence Council forces after the fighting had divided the city along the river. Its loss was mourned worldwide as the destruction of a shared heritage. Mostar chose to raise it again exactly as it had been, using the original techniques and local tenelija stone, with original blocks lifted from the river; an international coalition oversaw the work and the rebuilt bridge was inaugurated on 23 July 2004. In 2005 UNESCO inscribed the Old Bridge and its old town as a World Heritage Site and a symbol of reconciliation.
How much time do you need at Stari Most (the Old Bridge)?
Around ~30 min works well for Stari Most (the Old Bridge) — time to look properly and listen to its story on the spot. Linger if you like; nothing on a self-guided walk is on a clock.
Should you stop at Stari Most (the Old Bridge)?
Yes — Stari Most (the Old Bridge) made the cut as one of 13 places the Gingerguide team researched and narrated across Mostar. The story tells you why it is worth the stop, and the AI guide fills in anything you still wonder.
Nearby stops in Mostar
Day 2 of the Mostar in 2 days itinerary →
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Hear the story of Stari Most (the Old Bridge)
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