![]() It is a stone-arched bridge built the same way as its big brother. Perhaps it was a test model for the Old Bridge. It is a look-alike smaller brother to the Old Bridge. It spans Radobolja Creek, a modest tributary of the Neretva River. ![]() The Crooked Bridge is older than Old Bridge by a few years. Not far from the famous Mostar Bridge, known as the Old Bridge, there is another ancient structure named Crooked Bridge. Today the church and its Bell Tower are giving locals and tourists a magnificent bird’s-eye view over Mostar. The bell tower, called the Peace Bell Tower, is near the Radobolja creek, by the Hum River. The church was rebuilt with the tallest bell tower in southeastern Europe. The second came after the end of the civil war in 1995. The first time was after the bombing of World War II. The religious complex was reconstructed twice. By 1896 the Church and Monastery had arisen in Mostar. Local workers built the walls using oak trunks. The monks invited Italian architect Matteo Lorenzoni to design a project for the church. In 1859, Sultan Abdulmejid I published a decree giving Christians religious freedom. The Catholic Church would not be re-established in Mostar until the mid-19th century. In 1583 invading Ottomans destroyed both church and monastery, executed the monks, and dumped their bodies into the Neretva River. In the 15th century, they built a church and monastery. If on foot, walk west over the Old Bridge and go straight.įranciscans arrived in Mostar in the 14th century. There is plenty of parking near the church. The Bell Tower is next to the M6-1 main road on the West Bank. A Gallery of Peace and an Education Center comprise the rest. The Peace Bell Tower is regarded as the first phase of a peace initiative for locals, visitors, and people of all faiths. The Bell Tower has seven bells which toll frequently. The view is a panoramic 360 degrees, taking a picture of the city and environs. An elevator will take visitors to a height of 246 feet then the climb is by foot, some 148 steps to the viewing platform. The Peace Bell Tower stands at a height of 352 feet. The new construction is taller than the original and is the largest building in the city. The present structure is built on the site of the original tower, destroyed in an artillery barrage in 1992. Among the pleasures and sights of this exotic place are signs of hope and renewal for the whole country.įranciscan Church Bell Tower, symbolically called Peace Bell Tower, was the idea of Franciscan Oko Skoko, a guardian of the Monastery Saint Peter and Saint Paul in Mostar. A trip to Mostar is more than a tourist visit. Strolling through Mostar today, among the ruins and rebuilding, one can spy stones with the message "Don't Forget '93." They are reminders of despair of the past and hope for the future. Mosques, churches, and neighborhoods were razed, and atrocities became commonplace. The arch of the Old Bridge, which had connected Muslims and Christians for centuries, was broken. The Old City was devastated by the Croat-Bosnian War of 1993-1995. The city hosts the music festival Melodies of Mostar every year. The Koski Mehmed Pasha Mosque, built in 1617, is open to visitors. The Bazaar Kujundziluk, named for its goldsmiths, still operates by the Old Bridge. The Cejvan Cehaj Mosque of 1552 is the oldest mosque in Mostar. One can find plenty of such examples in the Italianate Franciscan Church, the Ottoman residences of the mahallas, and the mosques and madrassas. Mostar architecture covers foreign themes merged with native styles. It became part of the newly independent Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1992. Mostar became part of Yugoslavia after 1918. Then the Austro-Hungarian Empire took the reins. Destroyed in the Bosnian-Croatian War, it was completely restored by 2000. Its graceful sky-reaching arch lasted 427 years. In 1566 Suleiman the Magnificent ordered the "Old Bridge" to be built in stone. The Ottoman Empire absorbed Mostar in 1468. The bridge over the Neretva River was vital. Mostar was strategically located between the Adriatic Sea and the rich hinterland of Bosnia. It called the residents "Mostari" which means "bridge-keepers." The name Mostar was derived from a document dated 1474. Remains of fortified encampments, cemeteries, and Roman foundations have been discovered beneath present-day Mostar. Settlements by the Neretva River, between Mount Hum and Mount Velez, go back to prehistoric times.
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