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All Bosnia and Herzegovina Višegrad Mehmed Pasha Sokolovic Bridge

Mehmed Pasha Sokolovic Bridge

Celebrated example of Ottoman architecture that also served as a site for brutal massacres.

Višegrad, Bosnia and Herzegovina

Added By
Stanislav Stanković
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  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Visegrad...
  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Visegrad...
  http://www.flickr.com/photos/48910995@N06/...
  http://www.flickr.com/photos/48910995@N06/...
The bridge as it appeared in 1900.   http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Mehmed_P...
The central pile of the bridge.   http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Visegrad...
Ivo Andrić standing in front of the bridge.   http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Ivo_Andr...
Na Drini chuprija   vasilisapremudra / Atlas Obscura User
Na Drini chuprija   vasilisapremudra / Atlas Obscura User
Na Drini chuprija   vasilisapremudra / Atlas Obscura User
Fun fact: This bridge used eggs to stick the bricks together.   lpustahija10 / Atlas Obscura User
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About

The Mehmed Pasha Sokolovic Bridge that spans the Drina River in the east of Bosnia and Herzegovina has a long and morbid history. Built at the end of the 16th century by the well-known court architect Mimar Koca Sinan, the bridge is a triumph of Ottoman monumental architecture and civil engineering. With its 11 masonry arches spanning 179 meters, the bridge is celebrated as a perfect example of proportion.

Today, people are once again talking about the beauty of the bridge and its significance as a piece of architecture. But in the early 1990s, the bridge, included on UNESCO's World Heritage list in 2007, was known as the site of a large number of brutal killings during the Višegrad massacre. At that time, there were so many bodies floating down the river from the bridge that they clogged a hydroelectric dam in Serbia.

Milan Lukic—convicted of murder, extermination, persecution, cruel treatment, and inhumane acts against his Bosniak neighbors by a trial chamber in 2009—was largely responsible for the killings. Lukic used the surrounding area as headquarters for his rape camp, turning nearby fields, factories and, of course, the bridge into sites of abduction and massacre.

While the connection to Lukic has drawn many to the bridge, it is perhaps most famous for its role in Nobel Prize-winning author Ivo Andric's book The Bridge on the Drina.

Recently declared in danger of collapse because of fluctuations in the river level, the Mehmed Pasha Sokolovic Bridge is closed to traffic.

Related Tags

Memento Mori Architectural Oddities Architecture

Know Before You Go

The location of the bridge is a way off from the real one. Please update the map to show the sight in Visegrad, also in Bosnia.

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Balkans Road Trip: Serbia, Croatia & Bosnia and Herzegovina

Traverse the beauty and history of the Balkans through locals' stories.

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Community Contributors

Added By

stanestane

Edited By

paunovicmilos, vasilisapremudra, lpustahija10

  • paunovicmilos
  • vasilisapremudra
  • lpustahija10

Published

August 5, 2010

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Sources
  • The Daily Seyahatname: The Mehmed Pasha Sokolovic Bridge: http://bloggingbalkanistan.wordpress.com/2010/07/10/the-mehmed-pasha-sokolovic-bridge/
  • UNESCO World Heritage: Mehmed Pasa Sokolovic Bridge in Visegrad: http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1260
  • ArchNet Digital Library: Mehmed Pasha Sokolovic Bridge: http://archnet.org/library/sites/one-site.jsp?site_id=9242
  • Wikipedia: Medhmed Pasa Sokolovic Bridge: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mehmed_Pa%C5%A1a_Sokolovi%C4%87_Bridge
Mehmed Pasha Sokolovic Bridge
Mehmed Pasha Sokolovic Bridge
Višegrad, 73240
Bosnia and Herzegovina
43.782413, 19.287978
Get Directions

Nearby Places

Drvengrad

Mokra Gora, Serbia

miles away

Drina River House

Bajina Bašta, Serbia

miles away

Kadinjača Memorial Complex

Zlatiborski okrug, Serbia

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Bosnia and Herzegovina

Bosnia and Herzegovina

Europe

Places 48
Stories 4

Nearby Places

Drvengrad

Mokra Gora, Serbia

miles away

Drina River House

Bajina Bašta, Serbia

miles away

Kadinjača Memorial Complex

Zlatiborski okrug, Serbia

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Bosnia and Herzegovina

Bosnia and Herzegovina

Europe

Places 48
Stories 4

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By Nick Jackson

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