Normally tourists know Mostar for its Stari Most (Old Bridge) that has been built by the Ottomans in the 16th century. Nowadays, locals are diving off this bridge into the Neretva river for tips from tourists.
Mostar old bridge
Mostar is a beautiful “city”. And you are either east of the river or west. The Muslim side or the Croat side. However Mostar has a black page in history. The siege of Mostar happened in 1992 and from 1993 till 1994 during the Bosnian war. You will still see a lot of places in this city that left the marks of this war. Buildings with bullet holes, or even totally destroyed buildings.
The most impressive way to see how this war could have been is to visit the so called Snipers Nest. Officially it is illegal to visit this place nowadays. To prevent people from entering this building the government build a small wall around the building. However there are some places where you climb over the wall easily.
At the moment you enter the building you start to realise what this place was. This building was the former Ljubuljanska Banka Tower. The bank wasn’t long in use when the war started. Snipers took hold of this building and from here they could take the whole city into fire.
Snipers Nest
The first moment you step into the building you will see glass scattered everywhere. Office tables and old landline phones are lying around on every floor. You will find old office documents, but also needles from junkies that took over this place more recently.
When you move to the higher floors you start to understand why this building was perfect for snipers. You escape from the sounds of the city and you can see the whole city. With a perfect view what is happening on the other side of the river. If you look careful enough you will see old sniper shell casings lying on the floor as well.
Don’t forget to take close attention to the graffiti. Your first impression could be that this is only made by graffiti artists. But most of the graffiti refer to the things that happened in the war. While this place is fascinating to see, it also gave me a horrible feeling. It brought me back in time and I could literally picture how it should have been during war time. Definitely a must visit for everyone who is in Mostar.
Graffiti Art
