The “Guardians of Tradition” event, with which the City of Mostar marks the 20th anniversary of the entry of the Old Bridge into the UNESCO list of world protected cultural heritage and the 21st anniversary of the restoration of the Old Bridge, was held on Monday at the Yunus Emre Mostar Institute as part of the “Mostar Summer 2025” international cultural event.
On this occasion, visitors were presented with the works of artists and craftsmen as a kind of exhibition of local traditional dishes, handicrafts and customs, all with the aim of preserving and promoting the cultural and historical treasures of Mostar and Herzegovina.
The President of the City Council of the City of Mostar, Đani Rahimić, said that these are two very significant anniversaries, for which the organizers wanted to do something a little different than usual this year.
“We know that the Old Bridge is the pride of all of us, but this time we wanted to focus on the people, the people who restored the Bridge, but also the people who today preserve our traditions, crafts, but also create new values. We gathered these people here to thank them for everything they did and are doing. Next year, we may also organize a competition in photography, painting and creativity in order to attract people to come to Mostar, inspire each other and thus create new values,” said Rahimić.
As for the obligations that the City of Mostar fulfills towards UNESCO, Rahimić points out that they can be shown through the Management Plan for the old city core, which is submitted to UNESCO for approval.
“Through that plan, all things are defined and prescribed, from the appearance of awnings, advertisements, waste removal and the like, and we are currently in the phase of drafting a new Management Plan. It is challenging to implement all of this, the City is not saying that it is ideal, but here are the credit funds that we approved at the last session are aimed at improving communal services, and a part of it will certainly be seen in the old part of the city,” said Rahimić.
The Chief Advisor of the City of Mostar, Ines Sulić, pointed out that this historic success is an indicator that Bosnia and Herzegovina, despite numerous challenges, can achieve great goals through cooperation, expertise and the preservation of its own cultural identity.
“The day of July 15, 2005 was written in golden letters in the history of Mostar, it is of great importance for the cultural, political and touristic significance of this city. After the reconstruction of the Old Bridge, the city was reunified, so this historical success showed that our country can achieve great goals through cooperation, expertise and the preservation of its own cultural identity,” said Sulić.
The participants of the event were local artists, craftsmen, activists and enthusiasts as the main actors who work to preserve tradition and who are most invited to present their work to visitors.
The central event marking the two jubilees will be held on Tuesday, July 22, when the Divanhana concert will be held on the plateau below the Old Bridge starting at 9 p.m.
The event “Guardians of Tradition” was held under the auspices of the City of Mostar.
