Mostar is a city in southern Bosnia and Herzegovina, on the banks of the Neretva River, about 127 km from Sarajevo (roughly a 2-hour drive). The city’s name comes from “mostari,” the bridge keepers who guarded the Old Bridge during the Ottoman era.
Mostar’s defining landmark is the Old Bridge (Stari Most), commissioned by Suleiman the Magnificent in 1557 and designed by architect Mimar Hayruddin, a talented apprentice of the renowned Ottoman architect Mimar Sinan. Construction took nine years, completing in 1566. The bridge connects the two halves of the city across the Neretva.
On November 9, 1993, during the Bosnian War, the bridge was bombarded with more than 60 shells by Croatian Defence Council (HVO) forces, causing it to collapse entirely into the river. It was rebuilt with UNESCO’s help between 1998 and 2004 using traditional techniques and materials close to the original, and was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2005 under the name “Old Bridge Area of the Old City of Mostar.”
Around the bridge, the old town spreads out with narrow stone alleys, traditional shops, and cafés overlooking the turquoise river below, making it one of the most-visited destinations in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
This information was verified on August 7, 2026.