The bridge at Mostar

For many years, Stari Most, the ancient bridge at Mostar, was both a symbol of understanding between nations and a picturesque destination for travellers. Both the technical achievement of the architect who in 1566 errected a stone bridge with a single arch spanning (width of 28,7 m; height of 20,34 m), and the delicate aesthetic architecture deserve our admiration.

The destruction of this monument in 1993 during the War in Bosnia shocked the whole world. The international community made possible the re-building of the so-called "ancient bridge" using original blocks of stone recovered from the bed of the River Neretva.

On the occasion of the current Dutch presidency of the OSCE (Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe) the Kunsthistorisches Museum presents an exhibition at the Temple of Theseus in the Vienna Volksgarten (part of the former imperial gardens), which will focus on Stari Most as a bridge between the civilisations of the West and Europe on the one hand and of the Orient and Islam on the other. In addition, it documents the extent of scholarly and technical preliminary works that were necessary for this project which made use of ancient Ottoman building techniques.

Original stones from the bridge and a multi-media presentation will provide information and recreate the unique aura surrounding this architectural monument at the heart of Mostar. The exhibition curated by Gilles Péqueux, which was shown at the French Cultural Institute in Mostar in Winter 2002, is part of the current exhibition as a digital project. This year`s exhibition at the Temple of Theseus is curated by Sylvia Mader.

The show will also include an exhibition within the exhibition: about 24 black-and-white photographs by Bosnia´s well-known photographer, Ciril Ciro Raic, whose work documents his life-long fascination with the bridge at Mostar.