Višegrad

Višegrad lies on the Drina, where the river emerges from a narrow gorge among the mountains of eastern Bosnia. The great stone bridge across the river bears the name of Mehmed Paša Sokolović, an Ottoman grand vizier born in the surrounding region. Its eleven masonry arches carry a road that linked the Danube lands with Sarajevo and the Adriatic coast.

Taken from his family as a boy under the Ottoman devshirme, Mehmed rose to the highest offices of the empire. As grand vizier he commissioned a bridge in his native region, entrusting its design to the celebrated court architect Sinan. Built between 1571 and 1577, the crossing joined a monumental work of imperial patronage to a road of considerable importance through the Balkans. Inscriptions on the bridge commemorate its patron and construction; repairs to its piers are recorded in 1625.