The Old Bridge, Mostar
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Bosnia and Herzegovina

Where East and West meet in stone: medieval kings, Ottoman bridges and a coffee culture of its own. The history and culture of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

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The Old Bridge, Mostar · Photo: Faruk Kaymak

History

The story of Bosnia and Herzegovina

The medieval Banate of Bosnia became a kingdom when Tvrtko I was crowned in 1377, and its carved tombstones, the stećci, still stand in fields across the country. The Ottomans arrived in the fifteenth century and stayed for four hundred years, building the bazaars, mosques and bridges that give Sarajevo and Mostar their character.

In 1566 the Ottoman architect Mimar Hayruddin completed the Old Bridge at Mostar, a single stone arch over the Neretva. Destroyed in 1993, it was rebuilt with the original techniques and reopened in 2004; young men still dive from it in summer. Austria-Hungary governed from 1878, Yugoslavia followed, and Bosnia and Herzegovina became independent in 1992. Sarajevo hosted the Winter Olympics in 1984.

A short timeline

  • The medieval kingdom12th to 15th centuries

    Ban Kulin and King Tvrtko I.

  • The Ottoman centuries15th century to 1878

    Sarajevo's Baščaršija and Mostar's Old Bridge.

  • Austria-Hungary1878 to 1918

    Habsburg buildings along the Miljacka in Sarajevo.

  • Independence1992

    The Old Bridge reopened in 2004.

A bridge over the Miljacka, Sarajevo
A bridge over the Miljacka, Sarajevo · Photo: Defne Kucukmustafa / Unsplash
Počitelj above the Neretva
Počitelj above the Neretva · Photo: Fatih Beki / Unsplash
The Blagaj Tekke
The Blagaj Tekke · Photo: Mujo Hasanovic / Unsplash

Arts and letters

Great figures and the arts

Sevdalinka, the slow love songs of Bosnia, carry the same longing as Portuguese fado. The Sarajevo Film Festival, founded in 1995, is now one of the most important in south-east Europe.

In Sarajevo, the Ottoman bazaar of Baščaršija with its coppersmiths and coffee houses, the sixteenth-century Gazi Husrev-beg Mosque and the Habsburg-era City Hall, the Vijećnica, are a short walk apart. In Mostar, the old quarter keeps its Ottoman houses and the Koski Mehmed Pasha Mosque above the river.

Great figures

  • Ivo AndrićNovelist

    Winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1961 for work including The Bridge on the Drina.

  • Mimar HayruddinArchitect

    Builder of the Old Bridge at Mostar.

At the table

The cuisine of Bosnia and Herzegovina

Bosnian food is generous and slow: ćevapi grilled in Sarajevo's old town, burek and other pies, stuffed vegetables, and coffee served in a copper džezva with Turkish delight. Herzegovina, around Mostar, makes white Žilavka and red Blatina wines. To finish, there is baklava, or tufahija, apples poached in syrup and filled with walnuts.

Where to stay and dine in Bosnia and Herzegovina →

UNESCO World Heritage

World Heritage highlights of Bosnia and Herzegovina

A selection of the finest sites, not the full list.

The Mehmed Paša Sokolović Bridge, Višegrad

The sixteenth-century bridge of Andrić's novel.

Stećci

Medieval tombstones, shared with Croatia, Montenegro and Serbia.

Plan

Explore Bosnia and Herzegovina

Before you go, read our notes on customs and etiquette in Bosnia and Herzegovina: how to greet, what to wear and how to tip.

Bosnia and HerzegovinaMostar & Bosnia and Herzegovina Travel GuideExplore Bosnia and HerzegovinaReal estateBosnia and Herzegovina Property: A Guide for ForeignersRead the guideCustoms and etiquetteGreetings, dress, dining and tipping in Bosnia and HerzegovinaRead the customsHistory and cultureEvery country of the MediterraneanAll countries

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