Stari most

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Stari most

Official name	Stari most
Carries	Pedestrians
Crosses	Neretva
Locale	Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Design	Arch
Total length	29 meters
Width	4 meters
Clearance below	20 meters at mid-span
Opening date	1566/1567

This article is about Stari most in Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina. For the former Old Bridge, Ljubljana, Slovenia, see Triple Bridge.

Stari Most (English translation: "The Old Bridge") is a 16th century Turkish bridge in the city of Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina that crosses the river Neretva and connects two parts of the city. The bridge was destroyed by Croatian Defence Council units during the War in Bosnia-Herzegovina, on November 9, 1993 at 10.15 am. A project was set in motion to rebuild it, and the new bridge opened on July 23, 2004.

1 Location
2 Characteristics
3 History
4 Tourism
5 See also
6 External links

[edit] Location

Panorama of Old Bridge in Mostar, June 2006

The bridge spans the Neretva river in the old town of Mostar, the city to which it gave the name. The city is the fourth-largest in the country, it is the center of the Herzegovina-Neretva Canton of the Federation, and the unofficial capital of Herzegovina.

Old Bridge Area of the Old City of Mostar*
UNESCO World Heritage Site

State Party	Bosnia and Herzegovina
Type	Cultural
Criteria	vi
Reference	946
Region†	Europe and North America
Inscription history
Inscription	2005 (29th Session)
* Name as inscribed on World Heritage List. † Region as classified by UNESCO.

[edit] Characteristics

Original Stari Most photographed in the 1970s.

The Stari Most is hump-backed, 4 meters wide and 30 meters long, and dominates the river from a height of 24 meters. Two fortified towers protect it: the Helebija tower on the northeast and the Tara tower on the southwest, called "the bridge keepers" (natively mostari).

The arch of the bridge was made of local stone known as tenelija. The shape of the arch is the result of numerous irregularities produced by the deformation of the intrados (the inner line of the arch). The most accurate description would be that it is a circle of which the centre is depressed in relation to the string course.

Instead of foundations, the bridge has abutments of limestone linked to wing walls along the waterside cliffs. Measuring from the summer water level of 40.05 m, abutments are erected to a height of 6.53 m, from which the arch springs to its high point. The start of the arch is emphasized by a moulding 0.32 m. in height. The rise of the arch is 12.02 m.

[edit] History

[edit] Construction

The existing bridge was commissioned by Suleiman the Magnificent in 1557 to replace an older wooden suspension bridge of dubious stability. Construction began in 1557 and took nine years: according to the inscription the bridge was completed in 974 AH, corresponding to the period between July 19, 1566 and July 7, 1567. Little is known of the building of the bridge and all that has been preserved in writing are memories and legends and the name of the builder, Mimar Hayruddin (student of the Old/Great Sinan (Mimar Sinan / Koca Sinan), the Ottoman architect). Charged under pain of death to construct a bridge of such unprecedented dimensions, the architect reportedly prepared for his own funeral on the day the scaffolding was finally removed from the completed structure. Upon its completion it was the widest man-made arch in the world. Certain associated technical issues remain a mystery: how the scaffolding was erected, how the stone, egg and flour was transported from one bank to the other, how the scaffolding remained sound during the long building period. As a result, this bridge can be classed among the greatest architectural works of its time.

[edit] Destruction

Stari Most undergoing reconstruction in 2003.

During the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina (1992-1995) the bridge was destroyed on November 9, 1993.

In 1992 the parapet of the Old Bridge was pierced by an artillery projectile at one point very close to the approach on the right bank of the Neretva on the downstream side. On 9 November 1993 the bridge was completely destroyed, falling into the Neretva, following sustained artillery attacks from Cekrk and other surrounding hills. The Croat forces deliberately targeted it citing military reasons, since the bridge was the only link between Bosniak-held left bank of the Neretva river and small pocket of territory under their control on the right bank.

[edit] Reconstruction

After the end of the war, plans were raised to reconstruct the bridge as a symbol of peace and ethnic harmony, literally bridging the two sides of the conflict. For the campaigners, it was important to use as much of the original material as possible. Salvage operations funded by the international community raised the stones and the remains of the bridge from the river. Missing elements or parts that were not usable anymore were recut from the same quarry where the original stones came from.

Now listed as a World Heritage Site, the bridge was rebuilt under the aegis of UNESCO. Its 1,088 stones were shaped according to the original techniques, and the reconstruction cost about 12 million euro. It reopened on July 23, 2004.

[edit] Diving

It is traditional for the young men of the town to leap from the bridge into the Neretva. As the Neretva is so cold, this is a very risky feat and only the most skilled and best trained divers will attempt it. The practice dates back to the time the bridge was built, but the first recorded instance of someone diving off the bridge is from 1664. In 1968 a formal diving competition was inaugurated and held every summer. The first person to jump from the bridge since it was re-opened was Enej Kelecija, a local who now resides in the United States.