The Stone Bridge, Skopje

The Stone Bridge, Skopje

The Stone Bridge, Skopje, middle age

The Stone Bridge rises magnificently over the river Vardar in the central part of Skopje, the capital of Macedonia. The bridge connects the old and the new part of the city, and is the primary element of the daily communication of its inhabitants and visitors. There is no visitor who visited Skopje and did not walk over it. The bridge connection the two part of Skopje not only physically, but also with time. All important events throughout history and all the events of today take place on it. This is the reason why the bridge deserves special treatment and care, because the loss of the bridge would mean the loss for an entire city.

Various interpretations explain the history of the Stone Bridge. Some of them lead to the period of the second half of the 15th Century, during the time of the rule of sultan Mehmed II. However, there are certain indicators that say that the bridge dates from much earlier. This is supported by a writing in Isa-Bey s mosque, where the time of its construction is related to the time of the rule of Murat II, at the beginning of the 15th century.

There is some evidence that there was a plate on the east side of the bridge that pointed to the time of its construction.

As the name itself says, the stone bridge was built of solid stone blocks, while its massive construction is supported by firm columns, connected with semicircular arcs. The fact that the bridge resisted all the numerous accidents and threats throughout history and all natural disasters, supports the theory of its really solid construction. The Stone Bridge was reconstructed and conserved several times, but that did not have any impact on its original appearance.

D. Kareva