Mostar

Mostar is a city of 75,613 (1991) in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The unofficial capital of Herzegovina, Mostar is situated on the Neretva river.

Mostar was named after its Old Bridge and the towers on its sides, "the bridge keepers" (mostars in the Bosnian language/Croatian language).

Founded in the late 15th century, Mostar was the chief administrative city for the Ottoman Empire in the Herzegovina region. The Austro-Hungarian Empire absorbed Mostar in 1878 and then it became part of Yugoslavia after the First World War.

Prior to the Bosnian War, Mostar was a producer of tobacco, bauxite, wine and aluminium products. Hydroelectric power was also generated by several dams in the region.

Bosnian War

Between 1992 and 1993, after Bosnia and Herzegovina declared independence from Yugoslavia, the town was subject to a nine month siege, and was bombarded by the Bosnian Serbs from the mountains to the east.

In 1993, the Bosnian Croats and Muslims began a long struggle for control of Mostar. Bosnian Croats relentlessly bombarded the Bosniak quarter of the city, reducing much of it (including many landmarks) to ruin. The 16th century "Stari Most" stone bridge that had been built by order from emperor Suleiman the Magnificent, along with numerous other mosques and houses from the Ottoman era, were destroyed.

Reconstruction

Since the 1994 ceasefire and the end of the war in 1995, great progress is being made in the reconstruction of the city of Mostar, and over $13m has been spent on restoration. A monumental project to rebuild the Old Bridge to the original design, and restore surrounding structures was initiated in 1999 and mostly completed by Spring 2004. A grand opening was held on July 23rd, 2004.