|
|  |
Mostar is a city and municipality in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the center of the Herzegovina-Neretva Canton of the Federation. The unofficial capital of Herzegovina. Mostar is situated on the Neretva river and is the fifth-largest city in the country. Mostar was named after its Old Bridge (Stari most) and the towers on its sides, "the bridge keepers" (natively: mostari).
Demographics
In 2005 the municipality of Mostar had a population of 127,066. As of 2006, estimates say Croats form at least a narrow majority in the city of Mostar. But they do not have political control of the city because the politics is equally divided between Croats and Bosniaks.
The city has had a carefully elaborated policy of national equality ever since the end of the war. The Croat and Bosniak ethnic communities each claim one side of the river and even support for the local football clubs, Zrinjski and Velez, is divided along ethnic lines. One Bosnian politician called Mostar "divided by a wall between Croats and Bosniaks" in an interview to RTV Slovenia. The number of Serbs remaining in the city following ethnic cleansing during the Bosnian War is negligible.
Reconstruction
Since the end of the wider war in 1995, great progress is being made in the reconstruction of the city of Mostar. The city was under direct monitoring from a European Union envoy, several elections were held and each nation was accommodated with regard to political control over the city. Over 15 million dollars has been spent on restoration.
A monumental project to rebuild the Old Bridge to the original design, and restore surrounding structures and historic neighbourhoods was initiated in 1999 and mostly completed by Spring 2004. The money for this reconstruction was donated by the United States, Turkey, Italy, the Netherlands, and Croatia. A grand opening was held on July 23, 2004 under heavy security.
In parallel with the restoration of the Old Bridge, the Aga Khan Trust for Culture (AKTC) and the World Monuments Fund (WMF) undertook a five-year long restoration and rehabilitation effort in historic Mostar. Realizing early on that the reconstruction of the bridge without an in-depth rehabilitation of the surrounding historic neighbourhoods would be devoid of context and meaning, they shaped the programme in such a way as to establish a framework of urban conservation schemes and individual restoration projects that would help regenerate the most significant areas of historic Mostar, and particularly the urban tissue around the Old Bridge. The project also resulted in the establishment of the Stari grad Agency which has an important role in overseeing the ongoing implementation of the conservation plan, as well as operating and maintaining a series of restored historic buildings (including the Old Bridge complex) and promoting Mostar as a cultural and tourist destination. The official inauguration of the Stari grad Agency coincided with the opening ceremony of the Bridge.
In July 2005, UNESCO finally inscribed the Old Bridge and its closest vicinity onto the World Heritage List. Previously, the inscription had been repeatedly deferred on account of poor quality of post-war reconstructions and deplorable use of modern materials in the old town.
|
 |
|
|
