Mehmed Paša Sokolović Bridge

Mehmed Paša Sokolović Bridge
Coordinates	43°47′N 19°17′E / 43.78°N 19.29°E / 43.78; 19.29
Crosses	Drina River
Locale	Višegrad, Republika Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Official name	Most Mehmed-paše Sokolovića
Heritage status
KONS of Bosnia and Herzegovina
Official name	Mehmed paša Sokolovic Bridge, the historical monument
Type	Category 0 cultural-historical and natural monument
Criteria	A, B, C i.ii.iii.iv.v.vi., D iii.iv., E iii.v., F i.ii.iii., G i.ii.iii.iv.v.vi., H ii.iii.
Designated	4 March 2003 (session no. 08.2-6-101/03-5)
Reference no.	769
List	List of National Monuments of Bosnia and Herzegovina
Characteristics
Design	Arch
Material	Limestone
Total length	179.5 metres
Traversable?	pedestrian
No. of spans	11
History
Architect	Mimar Sinan
Constructed by	Sokollu Mehmed Pasha
Opened	1577
Statistics
Daily traffic	pedestrian
UNESCO World Heritage Site
Official name	Mehmed Paša Sokolović Bridge in Višegrad
Type	Cultural
Criteria	ii, iv
Designated	2007 (31st session)
Reference no.	1260
Region	Europe and North America
Location

The Mehmed Paša Sokolović Bridge (Serbian: Мост Мехмед-паше Соколовића, romanized: Most Mehmed-paše Sokolovića) is a historic bridge in Višegrad, over the Drina River in eastern Bosnia and Herzegovina part of the Republika Srpska entity. It was completed in 1577 by the Ottoman court architect Mimar Sinan on the order of the Grand Vizier Mehmed Paša Sokolović.^[1] In 2003 bridge was included into the List of National Monuments of Bosnia and Herzegovina by KONS,^[2] and UNESCO inclusion into the World Heritage List followed in 2007.

It is characteristic of the apogee of Turkish monumental architecture and civil engineering. It numbers 11 masonry arches, with spans of 11 to 15 meters, and an access ramp at right angles with four arches on the left bank of the river.

The 179.5-meter-long (589 ft) bridge is a representative masterpiece of Mimar 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 UNESCO summary states: The unique elegance of proportion and monumental nobility of the property as a whole bear witness to the greatness of this style of architecture.^[3]

The Višegrad Bridge was commissioned by Grand Vizier Mehmed Pasha Sokolović, who exercised power over a long period at the summit of the Ottoman Empire during the reign of three sultans as a tribute to his native region and a symbol of trade and prosperity. Construction of the bridge took place between 1571 and 1577. Major renovations of the bridge have taken place in 1664, 1875, 1911, 1940 and 1950–52. Three of its 11 arches were destroyed during World War I and five were damaged during World War II but subsequently restored.^[4]

The bridge received UNESCO World Heritage Listing in 2007.

The Turkish International Co-operation and Development Agency (TIKA) provided 3.5 million euros for the restoration of the Mehmed Paša Sokolović Bridge. Representatives of TIKA, the BiH Commission for Co-operation with UNESCO, the Republika Srpska Cultural Ministry and the Višegrad municipality signed an agreement to renovate the bridge on 19 April 2010.^[5]

The bridge is widely known because of the book The Bridge on the Drina (1945) written by Yugoslav writer Ivo Andrić, Nobel Prize–winning author.^[4][6]

• 
  The center pile of the bridge
• 
  The bridge in circa 1890
• 
  Andrićgrad and Mehmed Paša Sokolović Bridge

• List of World Heritage Sites in Bosnia and Herzegovina
• Višegrad massacres

• Ševo, Ljiljana. "Stari Višegradski most u narodnoj tradiciji, putopisima i umjetnosti." Baština II (2006): 173-191.

• Media related to Mehmed Paša Sokolović Bridge in Višegrad at Wikimedia Commons
• Mehmed Paša Sokolović Bridge, visegradturizam.com
• Mehmed Paša Sokolović Bridge, official promo video 2019, youtube.com
• UNESCO listing of Mehmed Paša Sokolović Bridge in Višegrad, whc.unesco.org