Taşköprü, or the Stone Bridge, is a stone three-arch bridge over the Kars River, northwest of Kars city center and directly south of the

Castle of Kars The Castle of Kars (, ) is a former fortification located in Kars, Turkey. It is also known under the name İç Kale ("Central/Inner Castle", "Citadel"). It was first built during the rule of the Armenia, Armenian Bagratid Armenia, Bagratid dyna ...

. The bridge is 53.5 m long and 8.40 m wide. The bridge was built in 1579 of

ashlar Ashlar () is a cut and dressed rock (geology), stone, worked using a chisel to achieve a specific form, typically rectangular in shape. The term can also refer to a structure built from such stones. Ashlar is the finest stone masonry unit, a ...

basalt blocks as part of a program of works in Kars by Lala Mustafa Pasha, who became Sultan Murad III's

grand vizier Grand vizier (; ; ) was the title of the effective head of government of many sovereign states in the Islamic world. It was first held by officials in the later Abbasid Caliphate. It was then held in the Ottoman Empire, the Mughal Empire, the Soko ...

the following year. This bridge was subsequently destroyed by a flood, and it was rebuilt in 1719 (some records say 1725) by Karahanoğlu Haci Ebubekir Bey, one of the leaders of Kars. It was restored by the 18th Region of the Highways Directorate in 2013.The Stone Bridge of Kars
Retrieved 13 October 2023.

References

{{Bridges in Turkey Deck arch bridges Ottoman bridges in Turkey Buildings and structures in Kars Stone bridges in Turkey Tourist attractions in Kars Province Arch bridges in Turkey