Old Bridge of Mostar (Stari Most)
Puente viejo de Mostar (Stari Most)
- Date
- 1557-1566 · confidence high
- Place
- Mostar, Herzegovina, Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Credited to
- Mimar Hayruddin (a pupil of Sinan)
- Field
- Tools
⚠️ Disputed: the sources disagree.
What it is
A single-arch stone bridge with a pointed arch spanning about 29 m over the Neretva, built for Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent. For centuries it was one of the largest known stone arch spans.
The claim that it was 'the widest stone arch in the world' of its time is repeated but is unclear against earlier bridges (e.g. Trezzo sull'Adda); it is kept as a traditional statement. Destroyed in 1993 and rebuilt in 2004.
What it led to
- Mostar's urban symbol and a model of the Ottoman bridge in the Balkans
- international reconstruction with original technique and stone (2004)