The 31st anniversary of the demolition of the Old Bridge in Mostar was marked today with a jump without applause and the throwing of flowers into the Neretva River.
At 10:16 a.m., a member of the “Mostari” Skydiving Club, Armin Karalić, known as Bakota, jumped from the Old Bridge into the Neretva, accompanied by the sound of a siren that had been a danger signal during the war.
“Like every year so far, traditionally, in the same way, by jumping without applause, at the time when the Old Bridge was demolished, the members of the Skydiving Club mark this date,” recalled the president of the “Mostari” Skydiving Club, Lorens Listo.
He said that they would mark this anniversary as long as there are Clubs and skydivers at the exact time of the unfortunate event in 1993, so that younger generations would not forget what happened and, of course, so that this would never happen again.
Listo also invited his fellow citizens to join them in marking this date.
The Old Bridge on the Neretva was demolished due to intense shelling from the Croatian National Council (HVO) position, and the restoration of the Old Bridge began with the signing of the Agreement in June 1999, in which UNESCO, Mostar Mayor Ivan Prskalo, Deputy Mayor Safet Oručević and BiH Foreign Minister Jadranko Prlić participated.
Already next year, the establishment of the Agency for the construction of the Old Bridge and the restoration of the cultural heritage of Mostar was started. Rusmir Ćišić was appointed as the director of the Agency, and Tihomir Rozić as his deputy.
The reconstructed bridge was opened in 2004, and a year later it was included, together with the Old Town Center, on the UNESCO list of protected cultural monuments. The Old Bridge, the symbol of Mostar, is one of the most important monuments of Ottoman architecture in the Balkans. It was built in 1566.
