Terzijski Bridge or Terzi Bridge (, , , ), also referred to as Tailors' Bridge, is located near the village of Bishtazhin, near

Gjakova Gjakova, ) and Đakovica ( sr-Cyrl, Ђаковица, ) is the seventh largest city of Kosovo and seat of Gjakova Municipality and Gjakova District. The city has 40,827 inhabitants, while the municipality has 94,556 inhabitants. Geographically ...

Kosovo Kosovo ( sq, Kosova or ; sr-Cyrl, Косово ), officially the Republic of Kosovo ( sq, Republika e Kosovës, links=no; sr, Република Косово, Republika Kosovo, links=no), is a partially recognised state in Southeast Eur ...

. It is a respectable example of

Ottoman architecture Ottoman architecture is the architectural style that developed under the Ottoman Empire. It first emerged in northwestern Anatolia in the late 13th century and developed from earlier Seljuk Turkish architecture, with influences from Byzantine a ...

in Kosovo. It was built over the Erenik river, probably at the end of the 15th century, and was altered in the 18th century. It is a noteworthy example of the Tailors'

guild A guild ( ) is an association of artisans and merchants who oversee the practice of their craft/trade in a particular area. The earliest types of guild formed as organizations of tradesmen belonging to a professional association. They sometimes ...

from Gjakova, from which it received its name. Major reconstruction and restoration to its original appearance occurred from 1982 to 1984. Today, the bridge is under the protection of the

Republic of Kosovo Kosovo ( sq, Kosova or ; sr-Cyrl, Косово ), officially the Republic of Kosovo ( sq, Republika e Kosovës, links=no; sr, Република Косово, Republika Kosovo, links=no), is a partially recognised state in Southeast Europ ...

, originally being declared a Monument of Culture of Exceptional Importance in 1990 within

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin and the Balkans. It shares land borders with Hung ...

History

It is not known when exactly the bridge was built, but it is thought to have been at the end of the 15th century. This is due to the bridge having been erected on a

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

route, which connected

with

Prizren ) , settlement_type = Municipality and city , image_skyline = Prizren Collage.jpg , imagesize = 290px , image_caption = View of Prizren , image_alt = View of Prizren , image_flag ...

, and that the bridge was later expanded (a result of changes of flow in the

river A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater Fresh water or freshwater is any naturally occurring liquid or frozen water containing low concentrations of dissolved salts and other total dissolved solids. Although the ...

). In the 18th century it experienced major modifications, which gave it its current appearance. These works were financed by the Terzijski

from Gjakova, confirmed by an inscription carved in Turkish. The bridge was built with trimmed stones, in dark gray and an ocher shade. Its length exceeds 190 meters, the width of the pavement originally measuring over 3.5 meters. The bridge consists of 11 rounded arches, among which are embedded niches.

Notes

References

Stone bridges in Kosovo Cultural Monuments of Exceptional Importance (Serbia) Ottoman bridges in Kosovo Tourist attractions in Kosovo Cultural heritage of Kosovo Monuments and memorials in Kosovo {{Cultural Heritage of Exceptional Importance

History

Notes

See also

References