The Latin Bridge

One can conclude from a later document that this initial wooden bridge was soon destroyed and a stone bridge was built in its place by Ali Ajni Bey, a prominent Sarajevan.

This stone bridge was later washed away by a great flood in 1791, but in 1798 a wealthy trader from Sarajevo, Abdulah Briga, donated funds for the construction of the Latin Bridge that can be seen today.

The bridge took its name from the neighborhood on the left bank of the Miljacka, where Sarajevo’s Catholics resided.

From 1918 to 1993 the structure bore the name, Principov Most (bridge), after Gavrilo Princip, who was only a few meters from this bridge when he assassinated Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife, Sofie. This incident, known as the Sarajevo Assassination, led to the beginning of the First World War.