Walk Through Mostar’s Recent History With Local Stories and Hidden Landmarks

A VARIETY OF STYLES: OTTOMAN, AUSTRO-HUNGARIAN, AND MODERN MOSTAR

Perched above the emerald Neretva River, Mostar’s skyline is a visual repres of its layered past. The 16th-century Stari Most (Old Bridge), rebuilt in 2004, and the Ottoman-style houses lining the riverbanks anchor the city’s Ottoman heritage. Indeed, Mostar was originally a 15th – 16th century Ottoman frontier town, famous for its “old Turkish houses and Old Bridge”. UNESCO notes that the Old City now displays “pre-Ottoman, eastern Ottoman, Mediterranean and western European” architectural features, reflecting centuries of cultural exchange. In practical terms, the city “resonates with eclectic architecture, foreign aesthetics, and indigenous styles”: from domed mosques and private Ottoman courtyards to later European-style villas and modern buildings.

Just across the river, Mostar’s Austro-Hungarian legacy comes into view. Boldly painted buildings from the late 19th century like the neo-Moorish Španjolski trg (Spanish Square) high school – and grand civic structures showcase Austro-Hungarian urban design. Planners of that era imposed wide boulevards, baroque churches and ornate public baths (for example, the famous Moorish-ornamented city bath) in contrast to the Ottoman bazaar lanes. In the socialist Yugoslav and post-war eras, simpler modernist housing blocks and new plazas were added. Today, this juxtaposition – Ottoman domes beside Austro-Hungarian arches and modern blocks – gives Mostar a distinctive character that visitors can walk through and admire.

MOSTAR UNDER SIEGE: WAR’S TOLL ON HERITAGE

During the 90s War (1992–95) Mostar was besieged and ultimately divided by ethnic conflict.  By war’s end, the damage was catastrophic. A post-war analysis reports that 12 of Mostar’s 14 historic mosques were destroyed, along with major Catholic and Orthodox landmarks: the Cathedral of Mary, the Franciscan friary and monastery, and the Bishop’s Palace (whose library held 50,000 books) were all ruined or heavily damaged. The city museum and archives collapsed under shelling as well. All of Mostar’s bridges except the Old Bridge were wrecked, isolating neighborhoods. In raw numbers, some districts in East part of Mostar saw 60–75% of buildings shattered, making it “the most heavily destroyed city in Bosnia and Herzegovina” by the war’s close. In sum, much of Mostar’s built heritage lay in ruins by 1994, leaving deep physical and social scars.

REBUILDING MOSTAR: INTERNATIONAL EFFORTS AND LOCAL RENEWAL

Reconstruction of Mostar was a massive, multi-national undertaking. UNESCO spearheaded the Old Bridge project: in July 1998 it launched a partnership with the World Bank and the City of Mostar to rebuild the bridge and restore its surroundings. A UNESCO-led scientific committee and a local Project Implementation Unit (supported by a World Bank fund) oversaw the work. Donor governments from Croatia, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Turkey and others answered this appeal. From 1999 to 2004 craftsmen rebuilt the Old Bridge using original 16th-century methods and materials. Stone blocks were quarried from the same local site used centuries earlier, and any salvaged fragments of the old arch were catalogued and displayed in situ. This meticulous effort paid off: in July 2004 the new Stari Most was inaugurated as a near-exact replica of the original Ottoman bridge. In 2005 UNESCO inscribed the Old Bridge area on the World Heritage List, hailing the reconstructed site as a symbol of “reconciliation, international cooperation and the coexistence of diverse communities”.

GUIDED TOURS: HEALING HISTORIES THROUGH LOCAL STORYTELLING

In cities emerging from conflict, guided tours led by residents can be powerful tools of remembrance. When travelers learn about a place through the eyes of someone who lived there, the history becomes personal. As one Belfast political tour notes, such local-led tours “provide authentic and emotional insights” – guides who “lived through this dark period” share their own accounts, giving visitors a “deeper connection” to events. Mostar is no different: a local guide can explain not just what happened, but how it felt to endure and rebuild. This humanized approach challenges visitors to see beyond headlines and monuments. In Berlin, for example, guides who recall life with the Wall similarly turn a stones-and-fences tour into a story of individual courage and loss. In Mostar, hearing Croat and Bosniak voices describe former shared lives on the same streets helps bridge today’s divides. As UNESCO observed, Stari Most itself once served as a “friendship bridge” connecting Bosnians, Croats, Serbs, Muslims, Jews and Orthodox Christians. Guided tours that feature locals’ wartime memories are like narrative bridges of their own: they preserve the city’s collective memory and nurture empathy between communities.

FORTUNA’S WAR HERITAGE WALKING TOUR: A JOURNEY WITH LOCAL EXPERTS

To explore Mostar’s recent past in depth, Fortuna Tours offers a 2.5-hour War Heritage Walking Tour (featured on our Daily Tours page). This small-group walking tour is led by licensed local guides who witnessed the war firsthand. Guides share personal anecdotes at every stop, creating “an honest, emotional, and deeply informative look at the city’s experience during the 1990s war”. In fact, Fortuna notes that this tour is a must for history enthusiasts and “responsible travelers” seeking authenticity, because it goes beyond textbook history and gives voice to Mostar’s real stories.

The tour’s highlights include:

  • Spanish Square (Španjolski trg). A grand Austro-Hungarian plaza now marked by memorials and exhibitions. Guides explain how this space became a “site of memory” after the war and how the Old Gymnasium there was a shelter during the siege.
  • Liska Park. A leafy public park that once lay on the frontline dividing the town. From here, visitors hear how the city’s neighborhoods were split and later reunited. (The park’s modern renovation – with international funding – is also pointed out.)
  • Stari Most (Old Bridge) and the Crooked Bridge. Standing on the restored 16th-century arch, the guide discusses its destruction and rebirth. The nearby little Kriva Ćuprija (Crooked Bridge) is also shown as a surviving Ottoman relic. These bridges symbolize Mostar’s survival and reconciliation.
  • Kujundžiluk (Old Bazaar). The ancient merchant quarter at the river’s edge, where life before the war flourished. Guides tell stories of traditional craftsmen, pre-war multicultural markets, and how this neighborhood recovered afterwards.

Fortuna’s tour is deliberately intimate: groups are capped at 15 people, allowing ample time for questions and conversation. Tours run daily and are offered in multiple languages. By walking these sites with a guide who experienced them, travelers gain insight they wouldn’t get from a map alone. In this way, the War Heritage Walking Tour connects cultural tourism with social responsibility: it educates visitors, honors survivors’ voices, and fosters the empathy and understanding that many travelers seek today.

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