GoGo
All UNESCO SitesBosnia and Herzegovina

Old Bridge Area of the Old City of Mostar

Mostar · Bosnia and Herzegovina

Background

World Heritage since
2005
Type of site
Cultural
Old Bridge built
1557–1566

Mostar developed in the 15th and 16th centuries as an Ottoman frontier town and under Austro-Hungarian rule in the 19th and 20th, and has long been known for its old Turkish houses and the Old Bridge, Stari Most, after which it is named. In the 1990s conflict most of the historic town and the bridge were destroyed; UNESCO says the rebuilt bridge and old city are a symbol of reconciliation and of the coexistence of diverse communities.

Commissioned by Suleiman the Magnificent in 1557 and designed by Mimar Hayruddin, a pupil of Sinan, the single-arch bridge is 4 m wide, 30 m long and 24 m above the river. It was shelled and destroyed on 9 November 1993 and reopened on 23 July 2004, rebuilt with some of its original stones.

More on the UNESCO listing More on Wikipedia

  1. 15th–16th c.Mostar grows as an Ottoman frontier town
  2. 1557Suleiman the Magnificent commissions the bridge
  3. 1993The Old Bridge is destroyed in the war
  4. 2004The rebuilt bridge reopens
  5. 2005Inscribed as World Heritage

Find Your Way Around

The main parts of the site, in the order most visitors see them

  1. 1
    Stari Most
    The Old Bridge; members of the diving club leap from it for tips.
  2. 2
    Old Bridge Museum
    In the Tara tower, with the story of the reconstruction.
  3. 3
    Kujundžiluk
    The cobbled coppersmiths' bazaar.
  4. 4
    Koski Mehmed Pasha Mosque
    Climb the minaret for the bridge view.
  5. 5
    Ottoman Houses
    The Bišćević and Muslibegović houses, the finest Ottoman homes in the Balkans.

Know Before You Go

From Wikivoyage and the GoGo guides

Don't Jump
Wikivoyage: the river is a constant 12°C; leave the leaps to the local divers, who hose themselves down first.
Bus from Sarajevo
About an hourly bus, two and a half hours.
Bridge at Night
The GoGo guide returns to the riverbank rocks when the bridge is lit.
Slippery Stones
The bridge's polished stones are steep; take care in the wet.

The Bridge and the Bazaar

From the GoGo Mostar guide · Open the Mostar Guide ›

  1. 09:00
    Stari Most45 min
    The Old Bridge.
  2. 10:00
    Bridge Museum in the Tara Tower45 min
    The reconstruction story.
  3. 11:00
    Kujundžiluk Bazaar1 hr
    The coppersmiths' street.
  4. 14:00
    Koski Mehmed Pasha Mosque Minaret45 min
    The bridge view.
  5. 15:00
    Bišćević House45 min
    A 17th-century Turkish house.
  6. 21:00
    Stari Most at Night45 min
    The bridge lit up.

Best Time to Visit

Best months: Jun–Sep. Freezing days in Dec–Feb.

Typical highs

Best monthsRain: wettest Nov (120 mm), driest Jul (48 mm)

Climate: NASA POWER

Pair It With

Other World Heritage sites nearby, by distance

WORTH A NIGHTDAY TRIPSAME DAYDistance not to scale · tap a site
Do These Together
Dubrovnik is 83 km south, Split 113 km; Blagaj, Počitelj and the Kravice waterfalls are close by.
Sources
UNESCO World Heritage Centre, listing 946 · Wikipedia: Stari Most · Wikivoyage: Mostar (CC BY-SA 4.0) · GoGo Mostar guide · UNESCO listing