Stari Most – don’t jump (unless you know what you're doing!)
The little town of Mostar – once part of Yugoslavia and now in Bosnia & Herzegovina – suffered terribly during the war which led to the break-up of Yugoslavia. One of the flashpoints was the unforgivable destruction of Stari Most, the 16th century bridge over the Neretva river, in 1993.
After the war, the bridge was rebuilt in the form of an exact replica, and internationally-funded work was completed in 2004. And here it stands today, beautiful though not of course original.
The bridge is 29 meters high and attracts tourists from all over the world. Jumping from the bridge ('bridge diving') is a local ‘rites of passage’ tradition that goes back hundreds of years; if local boys don’t do it, goes the legend, they’ll be a failure for the rest of their lives. But if they misjudge what they're doing, the result could be fatal.
These days, jumps are strictly regulated by the local Mostari diving club, and the activity’s certainly not for the faint-hearted.
Image featured in EXPLORE
Stari Most – don’t jump (unless you know what you're doing!)
The little town of Mostar – once part of Yugoslavia and now in Bosnia & Herzegovina – suffered terribly during the war which led to the break-up of Yugoslavia. One of the flashpoints was the unforgivable destruction of Stari Most, the 16th century bridge over the Neretva river, in 1993.
After the war, the bridge was rebuilt in the form of an exact replica, and internationally-funded work was completed in 2004. And here it stands today, beautiful though not of course original.
The bridge is 29 meters high and attracts tourists from all over the world. Jumping from the bridge ('bridge diving') is a local ‘rites of passage’ tradition that goes back hundreds of years; if local boys don’t do it, goes the legend, they’ll be a failure for the rest of their lives. But if they misjudge what they're doing, the result could be fatal.
These days, jumps are strictly regulated by the local Mostari diving club, and the activity’s certainly not for the faint-hearted.
Image featured in EXPLORE