The Mehmed Paša Sokolović Bridge (Bosnian, Croatian, and Serbian: Most Mehmed-paše Sokolovića Cyrillic: Мост Мехмед Паше Соколовића Turkish: Sokullu Mehmet Paşa Köprüsü) is a bridge in Višegrad, over the Drina River in eastern Republika Srpska entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It was completed in 1577 AD by the Ottoman court architect Mimar Sinan on the order of the Grand Vizier Mehmed Paša Sokolović. UNESCO included the facility in its 2007 World Heritage List.
Characteristics
It is characteristic of the apogee of Ottoman monumental architecture and civil engineering. It numbers 11 masonry arches, with spans of 11 to 15 metres, and an access ramp at right angles with four arches on the left bank of the river. The 179.5 meter long bridge is a representative masterpiece of Mimar Koca Sinan, one of the greatest architects and engineers of the classical Ottoman period and a contemporary of the Italian Renaissance, with which his work can be compared. The unique elegance of proportion and monumental nobility of the property as a whole bear witness to the greatness of this style of architecture.
Renovation
The Turkish International Co-operation and Development Agency (TIKA) provided 3.5 million euros for the reconstruction of the Mehmed Paša Sokolović Bridge. Representatives of TIKA, the BiH Commission for Co-operation with UNESCO, the RS Cultural Ministry and the Višegrad municipality signed an agreement to rebuild the bridge on April 19, 2010.
History
Three of its 11 arches were destroyed during World War I and five were damaged during World War II but were subsequently restored.
During the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina the bridge was a place of a brutal killings of a large number of Bosniak civilians by Serb forces during the Višegrad massacre in 1992.
In literature
The bridge is now widely known because of the book The Bridge on the Drina written by Yugoslav writer Ivo Andrić, Nobel prize winning author.
