The Death and Life of a 16th Century Bridge

The Staru Most ("Old Bridge") in Mostar connected multiethnic and multinational communities for four centuries since the Ottoman Empire. Crumbling under the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the stone structure finally collapsed in 1993 after a hit by a tank shell. Yet by the late 1990's, restoration efforts were underway for the bridge and the surrounding historic neighborhoods. In July 2004, the reconstructed bridge over the Neretva River formally reopened--although some observers note that more time may be needed for the Muslim and Croat communities on either side of the river to conquer the divide caused by war.

Thanks to Deborah Myerson