Mostar
Mostar dates back to the fifteenth century. Its beginning was at the sides of a suspension wooden bridge on the chains. First at the left bank of the river Neretva a small settlement was founded. It was first mentioned in 1452. In the towers at the both sides of the bridge there were the guards, called “mostari”, so there is an assumption that the town was named after them. The Turks conquered the town in 1466 or 1467. Regarding a great importance of the bridge the town started developing fast, so around 1519 it became kadiluk and in the beginning of 1522 it became a centre of the Hercegovina sandzak. In 1592 it became the seat of muftija. In 1767 Mostar Mostar became the main office of the Orthodox metropolitan for Hercegovina, and from the middle of the nineteenth century Mostar was the centre of the Catholic bishopric. From 1833 to 1866 Mostar was the seat of the Hercegovina alajet, ruled by Alipasa Rizvanbegovic up to 1851. The Hercegovina vilajet was formed from a part of the Hercegovina sandzak and its centre was in Mostar from 1875 to 1877. Blagaj, a twice older settlement, conquered by the Turks just before Mostar or at the same time, was the former capital city of Hercegovina.
Mostar was founded by Gost Radivoj, one of the Herceg Stjepan`s dignitaries. In the middle of the fifteenth century Mostar had only 19 houses.
According to some Dubrovnik records, even before the Turks, Mostar was taken by Herceg Stjepan`s son, Vladislav, who fled from his father. As these records show, apart from Blagaj he took two towers at the both sides of a bridge at the Neretva river, so it was assumed it was Mostar.
After the Turks take over Mostar started with a somewhat faster development. The old wooden bridge, otherwise very important structure connecting eastern and western part of Hercegovina, became too weak for more intensive traffic. Therefore in 1557 construction of a new stone bridge was started. It lasted for 9 years. The constructor was Hajrudin, a pupil of the famous builder Sinan.
The bridge was built so perfectly that it looked as if it were made out of one stone. Its width was 4.5 m, length 30 m and height about 20 m. The stone blocks were connected with the metal couplings leaded afterwards. The stone bridge, known as the old bridge for more than 4 centuries had been radiating its beauty, attracting tourists from all over the world. All that time the bridge had been serving its function as a pedestrian bridge, up to 1993 when it fell victim to the war destruction. Not only an extremely important and valuable structure but also a symbol of town was destroyed. However it has been successfully reconstructed, looking as the original one, with the town reviving again and attracting numerous tourists and artists.
Mostar was under the Turkish rule about 420 years, namely up to 1878, that is up to the Austro-Hungarian occupation and it remained under their rule up to 1918.
Apart from Old Bridge, Mostar abounds with cultural and historical sights, like for example:
- The Tower Helebija: It was built in the seventeenth century to defend the town against the attack from the west side.
- The Tower Tara: It was built in the seventeenth century at the left bank. It was used as a gunpowder store.
- The Tower Hercegusa: It was built in the fifteenth century, at the time of Herceg Stjepan. It was even named after him. It is next to the Tara Tower. It was used exclusively for the defensive purposes and to defend the former suspension bridge.
- The Sahat Tower: It is located in Konak Street. Its sponsor was Kaduna Fatima.
- Kriva Cuprija on the Radobolja: This bridge is very near to Old Bridge, at the right bank. Its construction was completed before 1558. There is an assumption that it was built as a prototype for the Old Bridge construction. It was erected by Cejvan Cehaja.
- The Cejvan Cehaja Mosque: It was built in 1552. It is at the left bank of the river, not far from Old Bridge. It is the oldest mosque in the town. Concerning its location and the square foundations, it was probably built on the foundations of a church. In its vicinity there is the Hercegovina Museum with a lot of documents from the Second World War.
- The Karadjozbeg Mosque: It was built in 1557. It is the biggest and the most beautiful mosque in Bosna and Hercegovina, built during the Turkish reign. In its vicinity there is a religious school (medresa).
- The Koski Mehmed Pasha Mosque: It was built in 1617. It was built on the Neretva river rocks, near Old Bridge. In front of the mosque there is an interesting turbe with a sarcophagus and two nice nishans, dating back to the eighteenth century.
- The Biscevic House: It was built in 1635. It is the most attractive example of the Turkish time architecture. It houses a private etnographic collection from the Turkish period.
- The Corovic House: It was built in 1874, in stone, after a Dalmatian model. Writer Svetozar Corovic used to live and write there, and the famous poet Aleksa Santic spent the last years of his life in the house. The Santic`s written works and the library were kept in it.
- The Old Orthodox Church: It was built in 1833. It abounded with very valuable icons. In its vicinity a new orthodox church was built, the biggest and the most beautiful one in Bosna and Hercegovina. Sultan Abdul Aziz gave his contribution for its construction, which lasted for 10 years. It was damaged a lot during the war destruction from 1991 to 1995.
- The Roman Catholic Church: It was built in Matija Gubec Street, in form of a basilica. Next to the church there is a franciscan monastery with the library of Mostar publications and the collection of oriental manuscripts.
- The Monument of Poet Osman Sikic: It was built in 1936, opposite the Karadjozbeg Mosque. Its author is the architect Aleksandar Deroko.
- The Partisan Memorial Graveyard: It was built in 1965 in the west part of Mostar. It is one of the finest monuments of its kind.
Most of these sights were partially or completely damaged in the war actions during the nineties of the last century.
