[ Bosnien | Bosnia ]

Was Kollege Hartmuth in seinem "Balkancities"-Weblog Anfang Juni ankündigte, hat sich gestern auch verwirklicht. Die Brücke des Mehmed-paša Sokolović im ostbosnischen Višegrad – bekannt u.a. aus dem Roman "Die Brücke an der Drina" des bosnischen Nobelpreisträgers Ivo Andrić – befindet sich seit gestern auf der UNESCO-Liste des Weltkulturerbes.
Ein Auszug aus dem UNESCO-Pressebericht:

The Mehmed Paša Sokolović Bridge of Višegrad across the Drina River in the east of Bosnia and Herzegovina was built at the end of the 16th century by the court architect Sinan on the order of the Grand Vizier Mehmed Paša Sokolović. It is characteristic of the apogee of Ottoman monumental architecture and civil engineering. It numbers 11 masonry arches, with spans of 11 to 15 metres, and an access ramp at right angles with four arches on the left bank of the river. The 179.50m long bridge is a representative masterpiece of Mimar Koca Sinan, one of the greatest architects and engineers of the classical Ottoman period and a contemporary of the Italian Renaissance, with which his work can be compared. The unique elegance of proportion and monumental nobility of the property as a whole bear witness to the greatness of this style of architecture.