Nine Sarajevo bridges, centuries-old symbols of our city, wear luxurious holiday attire for the first time.
Magnificent scenes of Šeher-ćehajina ćuprija, Novi most Vijećnica, Ćepra ćuprija, Latinska ćuprija, Drvenije, Ćumurija, Čobanija, Festina lenta and Skenderija bridge!
Welcome to the magical city of life and incredible beauty.
Bridges on the Miljacka River testify to different periods of Sarajevo's history and each has a special story. One of the best ways to get to know the capital is to walk along Miljacka and stop by each of the bridges.
One part of the story is documented through the film "Bridges of Sarajevo". It is a mosaic of artistic views that critically reflect on various universal themes that a historical place such as Sarajevo symbolizes.
Below you can read the basic information about the twenty Sarajevo bridges.
Kozija Ćuprija Goat bridge
The stone gate of Sarajevo, the first bridge on miljacka on the east side, lies on the old Constantinople road, which in ancient times when the Turks ruled this area, from Sarajevo to Stambol. The bridge is one of four old bridges preserved from this time.
It was named after a legend according to which a poor shepherd kept goats in that place that led him to a pot full of gold. He got rich and built a bridge. It is believed that it was built in the time of Mehmed Pasha Sokolović in the 16th century, when mostar's Old, Visegrad Bridge and Trebinje's Arslanagića bridge were also built. The oldest written record of this bridge is the record of Mullah Mustafa Basheskia, who in 1771 records that a stone wall was built that led from kozija ćuprija all the way to Alifakovac.
A pedestrian bridge leading to Babic garden
It is not known when a small pedestrian bridge was built that connects Bendbaša and Babić garden, one of the oldest mahalas of Sarajevo.
Šeher-Ćehajina ćuprija
This national monument of our country, located right next to the famous Spite House and is assumed to have been built in the 16th or 17th century.
There are many stories about the name Sheher-Chehaja. One legend says that the construction of the bridge was financed by a certain Alija Hafizadić, and the other, better known among sarajevans, says that the builder of the bridge was the famous Hadži Husein, sheher-cehaja (manager) of the city. He died before the bridge was built. When the news of his death reached his son Mustafa in Stambol, he decides to return with his wife to Sarajevo and complete the construction of the bridge.
There is a legend according to which a large diamond was embedded in Sheher-chehaja's bridge. However, shortly after the end of the bridge, the diamond disappeared.
Pasvandžije (the bazaar guards) searched for the thief from house to house, only to turn out that a young man in love had stolen the diamond for his girlfriend. Moved by his great love, the Sarajevo kadija (judge) had mercy and freed the young man, but the diamond was never embedded in the bridge again.
Šeher-ćehaja's bridge was declared a national monument of Bosnia and Herzegovina in 2005.
New Bridge Vijećnica
This bridge was opened in April 2003, mainly due to traffic needs in this part of the city. It is named after the city's favourite, the Sarajevo City Hall.
Careva ćuprija The Emperor's Bridge
The Emperor's Bridge is the next arch across Miljacka. It was built in the 15th century by Isa-beg Isaković, originally standing in a slightly lower place than the current one – it was located right in front of the entrance to the Emperor's Mosque.
When Sultan Fatih Mehmed Han II came to Bosnia and conquered the whole country, Isa-bey came to worship him, handing over the mosque he had built. From that time on, the mosque and the bridge were called the Emperor's.
The wooden bridge collapsed on several occasions until Miljacka completely carried it away, so in its place in 1510 Gazi Husrev-beg had a new bridge made of hewn stone.
During the great flood of 1628, the Stone of the Emperor's Bridge was destroyed. A year later (1629) the Sarajevo landowner Hadži Husein-aga Haračić (somewhere also referred to as Haradžlija), had the bridge repaired at his own expense, building a stone bridge with three steps and four arches.
The flood struck the Emperor's Bridge again in 1791. The Sarajevo trrgovac and benefactor Hadži Mustafaga Bešlija repaired it at his own expense in 1792.
During the Austro-Hungarian empire, the Emperor's Bridge was demolished due to the poor condition it was in. The city government decides to erect a new, concrete bridge that still stands today. The bridge was moved a few steps closer to the street.
This bridge was demolished in 1619 in a flood, so Hadži Husein-aga Haračić built a stone bridge that was damaged and rebuilt in 1792. The Austro-Hungarians demolish this bridge because of its dilapidated condition and build a new one.
Latinska ćuprija
The first mention of the Latin Bridge was found in the defter (census) from 1541, where it is stated that the bridge was erected by a certain sarač Husein, son of Shirmed.
From a later document it can be concluded that it was a wooden bridge, which was soon demolished and instead of which the Sarajevo ajan Ali Ajni-Beg built a stone bridge.
This stone bridge was swept away by a great flood in 1791, after which in 1798, from funds bequeathed for charity by the renowned Sarajevo merchant Abdullah Briga, the Latin Bridge was built in its present form.
The Latin Bridge was named after latinluka, a wave on the left bank of Miljacka, inhabited by Sarajevo Catholics.
From 1918 to 1993, the Latin Bridge was called Princip's Bridge, after Gavrilo Princip, who just a few meters from this bridge carried out the assassination of the Austro-Hungarian Crown Prince Franz Ferdinand and his wife Sofia. The event, known as the Sarajevo Assassination, was the reason for the start of World War I.
Ćumurija most
The wooden bridge Ćumurija was built sometime before 1565, when it was first mentioned. It was originally called the Hajji Hassan Bridge, after the benefactor who financed its construction.
The bridge was designed to connect the mahala around the Ayas Pasha Mosque, which was located on the right bank of Miljacka, with the Mahal of bakr-baba's mosque at At Mejdan.
The Ajas Pasha mahala was the seat of the Sword fish guild, so it was right next to this bridge that the swordfish in Miljacka plucked out the ashes of the charcoal (charcoal) that they used to light fires when making sabers.
The bridge in the people and the present name – Ćumurija. Several times Ćumurija suffered great damage from floods, so in 1886 the wooden structure was replaced by an iron bridge that was originally used for the construction of the Bosanski Brod – Zenica railway.
Since 1919, the bridge was called Zrinjski most, after the Croatian ban Petar Zrinjski, and in 1993 its name Ćumurija was restored.
After extensive reconstruction, the bridge was opened to motor vehicle traffic in 2002.
Čobanija most
The shepherd's bridge was also once wooden. It was built by Hasan Vojvoda in 1557, and was rebuilt during the time of Sheikh Kaimi, a Sarajevo poet, so some call it "šejhanija bridge" as well as "šejtanija bridge".
In 1886, the iron bridge was built on the site of the old one, but due to poor support it collapsed. A new one was built in its place in 1888.
Festina Lente
Festina lente (Hurry, slowly) bridge officially opened on August 22, 2012 at the Academy of Fine Arts.
It connects the Promenade of Obala Mak Dizdar in front of the Academy of Fine Arts, whose students designed it: Adnan Alagić, Amila Hrustić and Bojana Kanlić (product design direction) with Radićeva Street.
The bridge is 38 meters long and 4 to 7 meters wide. Its steel structure is coated with aluminum panels, and the fence is made of laminated glass with wooden handrails.
It is illuminated by LED lighting installed on the fence and floor, and two wooden benches for rest are installed in the central part of the bridge.
At both entrances to the bridge, the inscription "Festina Lente" is engraved in the floor, which means "hurry slowly" in Latin.
Eiffelov most
The Skenderija Iron Bridge is also known as the Eiffel Bridge. Somewhere around the site of today's bridge is the Ottoman governor Skender Pasha, after whom an entire area on the left bank of Miljacka bears the name Skenderija, erected a wooden bridge at the end of the 15th or at the very beginning of the 16th century.
Capricious Miljacka often took away Sarajevo wooden bridges, and so it was with Skenderija. The Austro-Hungarian administration put an end to this, so it regulated the course of Miljacka and rebuilt numerous bridges, including the iron Skenderija in 1893.
In Sarajevo, there is a tradition, which has no confirmation in any written document, that this bridge was designed by the famous Alexandre Gustave Eiffel, architect of the famous Eiffel Tower in Paris.
During the last war, the bridge was severely damaged, and was last reconstructed in 2004.
Skenderija most
Skenderija Bridge is one of the busiest and therefore most crowded bridges in the city.
The Skenderija Concrete Bridge was built in 1969, in order to better connect the right and left banks of Miljacka near the place where the Skenderija Center, a cultural, sports and economic complex, which covers an area of 70,000 square meters, was opened that same year.
Both buildings, as well as the entire settlement on the left bank of Miljacka, were named Skenderija after the Ottoman governor of Bosansko Sandžak - Skender Pasha, who in 1499 in the area of today's Skenderija Center had a shopping center with 11 shops, caravan-saraj, court, imaret and tekke built in the area of today's Skenderija Center.
In 1518, his son Mustafa-beg Skenderpašić, along with his father's tekke, on the site of today's Youth Center, erected the first sub-domed mosque in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
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During the previous war, in the spring of 1992, one of the largest battles in Sarajevo was fought around this bridge, and, due to the war, the bridge was significantly damaged.A thorough reconstruction of the Skenderija concrete bridge, which connects obala Kulina bana and Terezija streets, was carried out in 2014.
Most Suade i Olge
The Suada and Olga Bridge is a concrete bridge, which connects Marijin Dvor on the right with the settlements of Kovačići and Grbavica on the left bank of Miljacka. Something upstream in Ottoman times stood the wooden Bridge of Ćirišhan (bridge), which was named after the glue factory (Ćirišhani), which was located on the right bank of Miljacka.
Today's bridge was built after World War II and is one of the first buildings built in Sarajevo in socialist Bosnia and Herzegovina. At that time, the bridge was called The Bridge.
Suada Dilberović and Olga Sučić are the first victims of aggression against Bosnia and Herzegovina. Suada Dilberović was a medical student in Sarajevo. Suada is the first victim of the siege of Sarajevo and is considered the first victim of aggression against Bosnia and Herzegovina from 1992 to 1995.
In the same place as Suada, Olga Sučić was killed, and therefore on the bridge, where these two young girls were killed, there is a monument to them two as the first victims of aggression in Sarajevo.
In 1993, Sarajevo's Romeo and Juliet were also killed on the bridge - Boško Brkić and Admira Ismić, two in love, who tried to escape from besieged Sarajevo and preserve their love at all costs from the war frenzy.
Ars Aevi
The Ars Aevi pedestrian bridge connects the banks of the Miljacka River near the National and Historical Museum of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The bridge was designed by renzo piano.
This pritzker award winner for architecture and honorary citizen of Sarajevo donated funds for the construction of the Ars Aevi Bridge, which was opened in 2002 and represents a physical and symbolic signpost to the space of the future museum.
The Ars Aevi Collection is one of the most important collections of contemporary art works in this part of the world.
Most u ulici Hamdije Čemerlića
This bridge once bore the name Brotherhood and Unity and played a special role in the last war. Many families crossed over him to Grbavica and back, divided aggressionm.
This concrete bridge was built in 1951, and until 1995 it was named Bridge of Brotherhood and Unity, after the combat slogan of the Partisans - fighters of the resistance movement in World War II, and then one of the essential policies of communist Yugoslavia, which aimed to affirm equality and unity among the peoples of the former Yugoslavia.
During the last war, the bridge was on the demarcation line and was a point through which, during the duration of the fragile armistice, communication between the warring parties was carried out, under the supervision of united nations forces.
In 2012, this road was reconstructed.
Bridge next to hotel Bristol
A small pedestrian bridge was built during the former Yugoslavia.
Most na Socijalnom The Bridge on Social
The bridge in Topal Osman Pasha Street was closed in the last war, was on the "front line" and was mined. This bridge was rebuilt in 2013.
Bridge in Azize Šaćirbegović Street
The So-called Malta Bridge was renovated in 2011. Given that Aziza Šećirbegović Street intersects the promenade, this pedestrian crossing was a logical solution for the daily traffic of a large number of pedestrians.
Bridge of Malaysian-Bosnian friendship
The Malaysian-Bosnian Friendship Bridge, also known as the "Bosmal Bridge", is located in the Sarajevo neighborhood of Čengić Vila and bridges the Miljacka River. It was built as part of the fifth Sarajevo transversal and connects the main street at Čengić Vila with bosmal city center, after which it got its nickname. The bridge was officially opened in 2005.
Congressman McCloskey Bridge
Congressman McCloskey Bridge connects Miljacka in the Sarajevo neighborhood of Otoka with Meša Selimović Boulevard with Prijedor Street, which leads past Otoka Shopping Center.
This road, also called the bridge near Otoka, was built in 1974 according to the design of the Traser Institute, and it is interesting that according to the same project, a bridge was built in Topal Osman Paše Street, which connects the Sarajevo settlements of Grbavica and Social.
Since 2010, the bridge at The Island is named after Francis Xavier Frank McCloskey, who was elected to the U.S. Congress six times ahead of the Democratic Party.
Congressman McCloskey (1939–2003) was a proven friend of Bosnia and Herzegovina, who during the last war in our country made enormous efforts to stop the war madness
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The bridge near the Istiqlal Mosque
In the settlement otoka there is another bridge, the one that connects the promenade in this settlement with another coast where the Istiqlal mosque is located and a little lower stadium FK Olimpic. The bridge was built after the war.