The original bridge was built in the 16th-century and stood for over
400 years connecting to the two parts of the city until it was destroyed
during the bitter fighting in the Bosnian war between the city’s Muslims
and Croats in 1993. On our recent trip to Croatia, we decided to go on a
little adventure to the city of Mostar in Bosnia and Herzegovina. For
the most part, we wanted to see the old bridge, Stari Most, as well as
what was left of the old town.
I have vivid memories of watching BBC correspondent, Jeremy Bowen, on
the television, running across the bridge trying to avoid being shot
just a few weeks before the bridge was destroyed.
The bridge seen here is the reconstruction which opened in 2004 and
the video shows the famous bridge divers on the reconstructed Stari Most
Bridge. I have muted the sound as it is just wind – it was very windy!
Filmed from the newer bridge some 250m away.
It is apparently a tradition that dates back more than 400 years for
young men of the city to prove their courage by jumping from the highest
point of the bridge into the Neretva River 79 feet below.
As well as the annual contest that is held there, divers jump for the
tourists too. The divers wait until the tourists have donated at least
25 Euros and then they jump but they are all part of a local diving
club. That said, people do get injured or worse.