Bosnia Bridge Jump: Stari Most Bridge jump attracts tourists | Mostar

HOW and when does a boy become a man? You may automatically think something traditional like a bar mitzvah, but one European country has a very unique coming of age custom that is no mean feat. In Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina, 16-year-old boys must plummet about 24m off the Stari Most bridge, into the chilly

HOW and when does a boy become a man?

You may automatically think something traditional like a bar mitzvah, but one European country has a very unique coming of age custom that is no mean feat.

In Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina, 16-year-old boys must plummet about 24m off the Stari Most bridge, into the chilly abyss of the Neretva river.

Locals say a man will be a complete life failure if he doesn’t take the plunge — he can forget about a job and a girlfriend.

But this tradition, causing them to hit the water at about 80km/h in three seconds, is no longer just something for Bosnian men.

It’s now an attraction for daring — or idiotic — backpackers passing through.

The Mostari diving club pretty much mans the bridge daily and charges tourists a hefty fee of 25 euros if they want to jump.

If a tourist successfully plunges, they are hailed into the club and can jump for free for the rest of their life.

Even comedy duo Hamish and Andy took the leap in 2012 during their Gap Year television series.

But hurling yourself more than 20 metres off a bridge isn’t always as fun as it seems — four people have accidentally killed themselves after plummeting into the rushing river below.

Injuries are often, too many for the Mostari diving club to count but they say when you step over onto the edge of the bridge you would want to be hoping the river isn’t shallow and there’s someone down there to help pull you to the side.

But it’s still not a risk that deters backpackers. New Zealander Andy Peat was just one who took the plunge last month.

As he gathered his composure he was doused in water by Bosnian locals, a technique to relieve pain from the fall.

His mind didn’t once tick over to the fact that lives were lost below him.

“A ship in the harbour is safe but that’s not what ships are made for,” he said.

“It’s a very special place, rich with history, so to be part of that is very amazing and a privilege.”

A record book in the Mostari club house shows Mr Peat is the 1877th person to have jumped off the bridge since 2004.

That averages out to be about three people a week.

There are only five women on the list.

A message is etched in the front of the record book, telling all divers it is witness to their courage.

“Performing the jump from this beautiful bridge isn’t so easy. It demands a lot of courage. Everyone who jumps from its high arch deserves to be registered in the pages of this book,” it reads.

“The names of the brave divers will be recorded forever and it will never sink into oblivion. In that way, all divers will be a part of the history of this stony old man. This book will be witness to everyone who stepped across the fence of this bridge and dared to jump to the green river and will testify about their courage.”

Stari Most is not just an ordinary bridge that tests faith of locals and tourists alike.

It has a rich history and cultural ties, dating back to when it was first built in the 16th Century.

Construction began in 1557 but was not complete until nine years later.

It was 1664 before the first person jumped off the structure.

The bridge stood for 427 years before it was destroyed by the Croat army during the Croat-Bosniak War in November 1993.

Newspapers in Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina, reported the bridge buckled under the attack of more than 60 shells and the Croats later admitted they deliberately destroyed it because it was of “strategic importance”.

In 2003 a project to reconstruct the Ottoman bridge was initiated to reconnect the two parts of Mostar.

The 30-metre long bridge reopened July 23 2004 and is now considered one of the most significant Islamic architectural pieces in the Balkans.

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