Mostar - a city in the course of history
- Written by Portal Editor
Our visit with the extended tour of the Stari most bridge was so impressive that we immediately decided to extend our stay in Mostar even further, especially since there is also a small campsite in the immediate vicinity.
So it was primarily a matter of examining the history of the place a little, whereby we of course also came across the history of the destruction and rebuilding of the Stari most bridge on November 9, 1993, which led to further conflicts until the restoration took place. But now to Mostar first, because the changeable history of the city was more than varied due to the different rulers in history.
Crossing over the Neretva means trading place
The mountains and valleys around Mostar were already settled in antiquity, so archiologists found remains of late antique basilicas in the villages of Cim and Sutina, which suggests a continuous settlement of the region. In the late Middle Ages, the Neretva Valley was under the rule of the Kosaca family. In 1454 there was a fortified crossing over the Neretva here in Mostar, which was heavily frequented by traders. This crossing was then conquered by the Ottomans in 1466, who expanded the place into an administrative seat, which is then mentioned for the first time in 1474 with the name Mostar (in translation something like bridge guard). In the 16th and 17th centuries, Mostar developed into the commercial and economic center of Herzegovina; At times it was also the seat of political power. In 1566 the now famous stone bridge was built in place of the old wooden bridge. After the Great Turkish War and the Peace of Karlowitz, the city received new fortifications.
After the Ottomans Austrians and Hungarians came
Like all of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Mostar came under Austro-Hungarian administration in 1878. In 1881 the city became the seat of a Catholic bishop. Mostar received a railway connection, and three more bridges were built across the Neretva. After the First World War, Mostar belonged to Yugoslavia, initially to Mostarska oblast, from 1929 to 1939 to Primorska banovina, from 1939 to 1941 to the autonomous Banovina Hrvatska. During the Second World War, Mostar was annexed to the independent state of Croatia. On February 14, 1945 it was captured by partisans of the Yugoslav People's Liberation Army. After the war, the city became part of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina in the restored, now socialist Yugoslavia.
Balkan / Bosnian War and its Consequences
Administratively, Mostar has formed two cities since the war: a Croatian on the western bank of the Neretva River and a Bosniak on the eastern bank. On behalf of the EU, Hans Koschnick was sent to Mostar as a mediator. In January 2004, this condition was formally lifted and a new regulation was introduced, according to which the city is divided into six municipalities, which together represent one unit. As a result of the ongoing dispute about the administrative structure, there were no local elections in Mostar from 2008 to 2020.
Near the bridge is the Karadozbeg Mosque, which is also open to visitors. The mosque with medresa (Koran school) and Šadrvan (fountain) was built in 1557 and badly damaged in the war in Herzegovina, but has been restored in between.
Also worth seeing is a Christian basilica in the suburb of Cim, which was probably built in the 5th or 6th century. The Serbian Orthodox Cathedral of the Holy Trinity, built between 1863 and 1873, was destroyed in 1992. It has been rebuilt since 2010.
In the course of the refugee crisis in Europe, temporary refugee accommodation was created near Mostar in 2018, which migrants use as a temporary residence before crossing the border into the European Union.
Test of courage for young and old - jumping bridges
Unfortunately we were in Mostar at the wrong time.
Please read as well:
Gideon Baron of Laudon and the liberation of Belgrade
Hike to the Berger monument near Witten
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https://www.alaturka.info/en/croatia/omis/5365-mostar-a-city-in-the-course-of-history/amp#sigProId830b93e8d7