Stari Most (Old Bridge) Mostar: history, divers, and visiting tips

The Old Bridge: four centuries, one destruction, one resurrection

The Stari Most (Stari: old; Most: bridge) is 29 metres long. A single arch of hand-cut tenelija limestone spans the Neretva at a point where the river runs green and cold between limestone cliffs. At the apex of the arch, 21 metres above the water, it is possible to stand and look both ways along the river and understand why the bridge was built exactly here — and why its loss in 1993 was so keenly felt.

The original bridge stood for 427 years — from its completion in 1566 to its deliberate destruction on 9 November 1993. The rebuilt bridge has now stood for over 20 years. It has been walked across by millions of people and jumped from by hundreds of trained divers. It is, again, the centre of Mostar.

The original bridge: Ottoman engineering at its peak

The commission came from the Ottoman Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent. The builder was Mimar Hayruddin, a student of the great architect Sinan who had built the Süleymaniye mosque in Istanbul. The bridge is Hayruddin’s masterwork.

The technical challenge was to span the Neretva — a fast river in a narrow gorge — with a single arch, in a place where stone is plentiful and timber for scaffolding would be a major undertaking. The solution used the local tenelija limestone, which is soft when quarried (easy to cut) and hardens significantly on exposure to air. The arch was constructed on wooden centring; when the centring was removed, the arch was self-supporting.

Contemporary accounts record that Hayruddin was uncertain whether the arch would hold when the scaffolding was removed. He arranged to have his horse saddled and ready to flee. The arch held.

The destruction of 1993

By 1993, Mostar was under siege. The Croat nationalist forces (HVO) and the Bosniak (Bosnian government) forces, initially allied against the Bosnian Serb army, had turned on each other. The Neretva river roughly divided the two sides. Artillery had already damaged the bridge.

On 9 November 1993, the bridge was targeted directly by tank fire and collapsed into the Neretva. International condemnation was immediate. The targeting of a cultural monument of such significance was widely described as a war crime. The bridge had no military significance.

The reconstruction: 1997–2004

The decision to rebuild the bridge was made in 1999. A committee of architects, engineers, and stonecutters was assembled under the supervision of UNESCO and the World Bank. The reconstruction faced two key questions: how to be faithful to the original, and how to deal with the replacement materials.

The answer to both was the same: use original methods. The tenelija limestone was quarried from the same hillside as the original. Stone cutters worked by hand, learning and reviving techniques that had largely died out in the region. Original stones recovered by divers from the Neretva riverbed were incorporated where possible.

The arch was completed in July 2004 — a ceremony attended by leaders from across the former Yugoslavia and internationally. The reconstruction was described by UNESCO as a model for post-conflict cultural recovery.

Visiting the Old Bridge

Walking across

The bridge surface is polished limestone — worn smooth by millions of footsteps and occasionally slippery when wet. Wear shoes with grip. The slight upward camber of the arch requires a small effort to climb; the view from the apex is the reward.

Looking east from the apex: the Koski Mehmed Pasha mosque and its minaret above the east bank; the Ottoman quarter hillside; the bazaar lane descending to the water. Looking west: the Tara tower, the west bank neighbourhood, the mountains beyond.

Walking the full length takes about 2 minutes. Standing on it for 15 minutes watching the river and the divers and the other visitors is more worthwhile.

Photography

The best photos of the bridge (from outside) are:

• From the banks of the Neretva, looking up at the arch — most easily reached by descending the steps from the bazaar to the river level below the east bridgehead
• From the Koski Mehmed Pasha mosque terrace, looking across the river at the bridge and its reflection
• From the Lučki most (the modern bridge 200 metres downstream), looking toward Stari Most

The worst time to photograph (too many people in frame): 10 am–3 pm July–August. The best time: dawn or just after sunset when the bridge is lit and empty.

The divers

The Mostari Diving Club maintains the jump tradition. Divers stand on the bridge parapet, raise their arms, and fall feet-first (typically) into the river 21 metres below. The fall lasts slightly less than 2 seconds; the impact is significant and the divers train extensively.

Watching a jump: the club performs jumps regularly throughout the day when sufficient donations have been collected from the watching crowd. The best viewing position is the bank below the east bridgehead or from the east bridgehead itself.

Attempting a jump: the club offers training. It is not recommended for untrained visitors acting on impulse. The river is cold, the current is stronger than it appears, and the impact from 21 metres is substantial.

The context of the reconstruction

Mostar highlights walking tour with bridge history

The Old Bridge is UNESCO-listed not simply as a historic monument but as a symbol of international intercultural dialogue and reconciliation. The inscription notes that the bridge represents “the successful re-establishment of trust and co-operation between communities and a symbol of reconciliation and international co-operation following the 1992–1995 conflict.”

This context is worth holding when you stand on the bridge. The limestone under your feet was cut by hand using methods dating to the 16th century. Some of the stones you walk on were dredged from the river where they fell in 1993. The craftsmen who rebuilt it came from Croatia, Bosnia, and Turkey, working together on a project that was explicitly about something more than a bridge.

Full-day Mostar tour from Dubrovnik — including bridge history

The surrounding quarter: Kujundžiluk and beyond

The two bridgehead areas contain most of Mostar’s visible Ottoman heritage:

East bridgehead: The Kujundžiluk bazaar lane climbs north from the bridge through craft shops. At the top, the lane opens onto a square with the Karadžozbeg mosque (1557) — the largest mosque in Herzegovina, slightly away from the main tourist circuit and worth seeking out for its scale and interior.

West bridgehead: The Tara tower (originally a warehouse for arms and gunpowder) is now a museum. The lane westward leads toward the Franciscan church and the west bank.

See the full Mostar travel guide for the complete city context.

Frequently asked questions about the Stari Most

Is the rebuilt bridge the same as the original?

As close as possible given modern safety requirements. The stone is the same variety, quarried from the same hillside, cut by hand using similar tools. The arch geometry is identical to the original. The main visible differences are in the drainage channels and some structural reinforcement that is not externally visible. UNESCO certified the reconstruction as faithful.

Why is the bridge surface so slippery?

The tenelija limestone is a dense, fine-grained stone that polishes to near-marble smoothness under foot traffic. Centuries of use made the original bridge famously slippery; the reconstruction has reproduced this quality. Rubber-soled shoes provide adequate grip; smooth leather-soled shoes or flip-flops are risky, especially in rain.

Can you see the battle damage anywhere in Mostar?

Yes. Beyond the restored old town area, bullet marks and shrapnel damage are visible on many buildings, particularly in the transition zone between east and west banks and in the west bank residential areas. The Sniper Tower (Bulevar Revolucije building) has been partially demolished; its scarred structure is visible from several points. The war cemetery on the hillside north of the old town contains graves from 1993–1994.

What is the connection between Mostar and the rest of Herzegovina?

Mostar is the gateway to the rest of western Herzegovina — Počitelj, Blagaj, Kravice, and the wine-producing Trebinje region to the south. A visit that extends beyond the bridge area gives a richer sense of the wider region.