page_title: Bridge on the Neretva
section_title: Bridge history and constructive elements
hierarchical_section_title: Bridge on the Neretva / Bridge history and constructive elements
caption_attribution_description: English: The original narrow-gauge railway bridge on the Neretva River in Jablanica
context_page_description: The Bridge on the Neretva is the memorial bridge on the Neretva river, in Jablanica, Bosnia and Herzegovina. Bridge is part of the Memorial of the Battle on the Neretva dedicated to the famous World War II battle, fought between Yugoslav partisans and Axes forces, as part of the 4th Enemy Offensive in February-March 1943. The battle is also known as the "Battle for the Wounded on the Neretva" or simply the "Battle for the Wounded".
context_section_description: The bridge was built in 1888. The iron-lattice structure was first commissioned and made in Hungary and was planned to bridge the Neretva river in Jablanica. By mistake, it was made shorter by 4 meters, so it was moved to Mostar and installed as the Bridge of Emperor and King Franz Joseph I. A new bridge for Jablanica was commissioned in England and later erected. The bridge that was built in 1888, with a linear grid and an inverted arch on the underside of the bridge. The arch range was 78 m and the arch arrow was 10 m. It was supported by stone-built walls on both banks, and the depth of the bridge iron-lattice structure at the points of support was 3 meters.
  Between 1-4 March 1943, the Partisans demolished all the bridges on the Neretva and Rama, from Karaula to Ostrožac. Between 7-8 March, in just 18 hours, a wooden provisional bridge, 56 m long and 2.5 m wide, was built.
  In August 1943, the Germans built a new bridge, which was a spatial grid of rectangular cross-section. The span of the bridge was 78 m and the height of the grid 8 m. The width of the bridge was 5 m. The bridge relied on existing stone-built supports. The grid height at the support points was smaller and was 5 m on either side of the bridge. This bridge was again demolished in 1968 during the filming of the Oscar-nominated film "Battle on the Neretva" by director Veljko Bulajić.
  As part of the project for the Museum of the Battle for the Wounded on the Neretva River in Jablanica, a reconstruction project for the Memorial Bridge was completed in May 1977. The existing latticework of the demolished railway bridge, which after its demolition in 1968 fell to the left bank of the Neretva, has remained to this day with the necessary works on protection against further collapse and deterioration.
  The bridging of the Neretva river between the pedestrian paths on the right bank toward the existing part laying on the left bank is done by a construction of the missing part of the bridge. This new part is placed from the right bank almost horizontally, with a slight slant towards the part of the bridge on the left bank, and is attached to the new concrete foundations in the Neretva riverbed and on the slope of the right bank. Along the new part of the bridge, wooden transverse beams are laid upstream, over which there is a wooden bridge floor. This wooden part of the memorial was used by visitors to cross from right to left bank, echoing and honoring crossing during the battle.
  However, in 1991, the swollen Neretva river ripped off entire new section of the bridge, both steel and wooden elements. A major reconstruction project has been prepared and the Bosnia and Herzegovina Electricity Company pledged to finance and work to rebuild the bridge.
caption: Famous bridge's original structure before it was blown up by Partisans.
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