The old bridge in Mostar collapsed after shelling on November 9, 1993. It was built between 1557 and 1566 at the behest of the Turkish Sultan Suleiman I. The design of the bridge was prepared by Mimar Hajrudin and it is said that he worked under the threat of death. If the bridge had collapsed, he would have lost his life. It is said that while the workers were removing the wooden supports, the unfortunate Mimar was preparing for his funeral. But the bridge did not collapse, and the prospect of death suddenly turned into triumph.
The successful completion of such a large and important building brought fame and recognition to Mimar Hajrudin. The newly built bridge connected the Muslim and Croatian parts of the city and was guarded by two massive towers on both sides. The people who settled in these towers and guarded the bridge came to be called mostari, and it was after them that the whole city got its name, i.e. Mostar.
When civil wars broke out in the Balkans after the breakup of Yugoslavia in the 1990s, Stary Most became one of their silent victims. The Croatian army identified the bridge as a strategic target and destroyed the structure with targeted shelling. However, after the end of the wars, the authorities in Bosnia and Herzegovina decided to restore it. On July 23, 2004, the restored Old Bridge was ceremonially reopened.
