prijava
VIŠEGRAD, April 2 (FENA) - The restoration of the Mehmed-paša Sokolović Bridge in Višegrad, which was financed by the Turkish Agency for Cooperation and Coordination TIKA, has been officially finalized today with the handover of the usage permit to the local authorities.
Ambassador of the Republic of Turkey to BiH Haldun Koc emphasized that the bridge is a part of common cultural heritage of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Turkey, as well as the entire world, and said that everyone should take care of it and cherish it for the generations to come.
He noted that today, the Ministry of Physical Planning, Construction and Ecology of RS presented the permit to the Municipality of Višegrad, thus finalizing the reconstruction of this very important monument.
He emphasized that TIKA has so far participated in financing more than 850 projects in various fields such as the reconstruction of cultural monuments, agriculture, healthcare, education, which have contributed to the economic stabilization of BiH.
He also stressed the tourism potential of Višegrad, stressing that the Mehmed-paša Sokolović Bridge is a great attraction to all visitors, and expressed satisfaction that the bridge will be on the tourist map for many years in the future.
TIKA Coordinator for BiH Omer Faruk Alimci reminded that the bridge was enlisted on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2007 and that the Bridge Restoration Protocol was signed in 2010.
He emphasized that under the project of the restoration of the bridge, the foundations have been reinforced, which, due to the construction of two hydro power plants in the meantime, have been weakened, stone paving was also installed, and that all operations that required precise manual work were successfully completed.
He emphasized that TIKA fully funded the restoration of the bridge worth five million euros.
The Mehmed-paša Sokolović Bridge, which was built between 1571 and 1577, is one of the masterpieces of the Ottoman bridge building.
The Mehmed Paša Sokolović Bridge was enlisted on the UNESCO World Heritage List at the 31st session of the World Heritage Committee, held from June 23 to July 2, 2007 in Christchurch, New Zealand.
Works on the reconstruction of the bridge on the Drina River, in eastern Bosnia and Herzegovina, lasted for three years, and their value is estimated at almost ten million KM.
The bridge became world famous thanks to the novel "The Bridge on the Drina" by BiH novelist Ivo Andrić, who was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1961 for the novel and his works have become the subject to international recognition.
In the 20th century, Mehmed-paša Sokolović Bridge once again received worldwide attention for the bloodshed in Višegrad and the Drina River that was red with blood. During the Second World War, and during the aggression on Bosnia and Herzegovina in the 1990s, Bosniaks suffered mass murders and killings on the very bridge and were thrown into the Drina River off of it, which was later forensically confirmed after the remains of several hundred people were exhumed from Lake Perućac during partial drainage of the lake on the border between Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia.
(FENA) S. R.
