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

Bishtazhin Bishtazhin (;) is a village located near Gjakova, Kosovo Kosovo ( sq, Kosova or ; sr-Cyrl, Косово ), officially the Republic of Kosovo ( sq, Republika e Kosovës, links=no; sr, Република Косово, Republika Kosovo, li ...

, 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. Geographicall ...

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 Euro ...

. 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 architecture, Seljuk Turkish architecture, with influen ...

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 international recognition of Kosovo, partiall ...

, originally being declared a

Monument of Culture of Exceptional Importance Immovable Cultural Heritage of Exceptional Importance ( sr, Непокретна културна добра од изузетног значаја/) are those objects of Immovable cultural heritage that enjoy the highest level of state protection ...

in 1990 within

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe, Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Bas ...

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, post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with t ...

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, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of wate ...

). 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 Turkish may refer to: *a Turkic language spoken by the Turks * of or about Turkey ** Turkish language *** Turkish alphabet ** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation *** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey *** Turkish communities and mi ...

. 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