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The bridge was built between 1571 and 1577 at the location where the road connected Bosnia with Constantinople across the Drina River (known as the "Constantinople Road"). The construction of the bridge was entrusted to the greatest Turkish builder, Koca Mimar Sinan, the imperial architect and chief builder of the Empire, and one of the world's greatest architects.
Mehmed Pasha Sokolović (1506-1579), who, as a fifteen-year-old Serbian boy, was taken by force to Turkey as part of the "devşirme" or "blood tax" to become a Janissary, an elite soldier of the Ottoman Empire. Thanks to his abilities, he later rose through the ranks to become an officer in the Ottoman army, eventually reaching the peak of his power as a grand vizier. At that time, he ordered the construction of a bridge in Višegrad.
The historical moment and the construction of the bridge were described by writer and Nobel laureate Ivo Andrić in his novel The Bridge on the Drina. 1 reply
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