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Primary sourceArtifact1566

Stari Most

Mimar Hayruddin · 1566

The Old Bridge in Mostar, a stone arch bridge over the Neretva River, commissioned by Suleiman the Magnificent and completed in 1566.

Suleiman commissioned this bridge, showing his investment in Ottoman infrastructure across the Balkans.

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Stari Most, the Old Bridge in Mostar, a stone arch bridge spanning the Neretva river at dusk. People stand on the bridge and gather on the riverbank and a wooden platform below, with lit buildings on the hillside.
Stari Most (Old Bridge), Mostar, commissioned by Suleiman the Magnificent, completed 1566.

About this source

What it is

Stari Most is a stone single-arch bridge spanning the Neretva River in Mostar, in present-day Bosnia and Herzegovina. It was commissioned by Suleiman the Magnificent and designed by the architect Mimar Hayruddin, a student of Mimar Sinan. Construction began in 1557 and the bridge was completed around 1566.

Why it matters

The bridge shows how Ottoman rule brought grand infrastructure projects to the Balkans, connecting communities and demonstrating imperial engineering skill. At the time it was the widest human-made arch in the world. It was destroyed during the Croat–Bosniak War in 1993 and later rebuilt, showing how historical monuments can become caught up in later conflicts.

Look closer

  • Why might a sultan want to fund a bridge far from his capital?
  • What does the bridge's destruction and reconstruction tell us about how monuments carry meaning long after they are built?
  • What skills would have been needed to build such a wide stone arch in the 16th century?

This artifact is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Suleiman the Magnificent on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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