Stari Most

Stari Most is a 16th-century Ottoman stone arch bridge over the Neretva River in Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina. Destroyed in 1993 during the Bosnian War, it was rebuilt and reopened in 2004.

Ottoman architecture: Architecture produced under the Ottoman Empire, blending regional building traditions with forms used across its territories. The bridge belongs to the empire’s architectural tradition in the Balkans.
Ottoman Empire: A multiethnic empire that ruled parts of southeastern Europe, western Asia, and northern Africa from the late 13th century to 1922. Ottoman authorities commissioned the bridge during their rule over Mostar.
Bosnian War: An internationalized armed conflict in Bosnia and Herzegovina from 1992 to 1995 following the breakup of Yugoslavia. The bridge was destroyed during this war in November 1993.
Mostar diving: The tradition of divers leaping from Stari Most into the Neretva River below. The daring local practice connects the bridge to civic identity and tourism.
Stone arch bridge: A bridge that carries loads through curved stone masonry arches into supporting abutments. Its single masonry arch is the defining structural form of Stari Most.
Suleiman the Magnificent: Ottoman sultan from 1520 to 1566, during whose reign the original Stari Most was built. Construction of the bridge took place under his rule.
Destruction of Stari Most: The destruction of Stari Most by shelling on 9 November 1993 during the Bosnian War. This event turned the bridge into an emblem of wartime destruction.
Bosniaks: A South Slavic people, predominantly Muslim, with a historic homeland in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Bosniak communities in Mostar experienced the bridge’s destruction and rebuilding.
Neretva: A river flowing through Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia, including the city of Mostar. Stari Most spans the Neretva at Mostar’s historic center.
Ottoman Bosnia: The Bosnian territories governed by the Ottoman Empire from the 15th century until Austro-Hungarian occupation in 1878. The bridge was built within the Ottoman province of Bosnia.

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