Designed by the architect Hajrudin, a student of the renowned 16th-century Ottoman builder Sinan, the bridge spans 28.7 meters, with an arch 21 meters high from the summer water level, and is 4.5 meters wide.
The bridge was constructed from cut stone called tenelija, which was quarried from Mukoša, about 5 km south of Mostar. Over 456 stone blocks of this stone were used in the bridge’s construction, but the exact number could not be calculated because part of these stone blocks, around 60, in the middle part of the bridge, were covered with mortar during its repair.
The bridge was built by craftsmen from Dubrovnik and the surrounding area of Popovo Polje, who were renowned masons and stonecutters. The Old Bridge was completed and opened in July or August of 1566. On the support on the left side of the river, an inscription in Arabic reads KUDRET KEMERI – The Arch of the Almighty.
Many stories and legends have been told about the Old Bridge and its builders. Some of them say that the architect was sentenced to death if the arch of the bridge ever collapsed. There is no information that Hajrudin ever saw his bridge. Instead of Hajrudin, the builder of the bridge was a local man, Mehmed Karađoz.
The shape of the bridge also has its own story, it is said to represent life. The bridge itself represents one half of a circle, and its reflection in the water is the other half of the circle, and this entire image represents life.
The bridge was destroyed during the war in 1993 and was rebuilt in 2004.
