"Something there is that doesn’t love a wall,” wrote Robert Frost (1874–1963) in his well-known poem “Mending Walls.” But there is something that loves a bridge. People write songs about bridges, like Simon and Garfunkel’s “Bridge over Troubled Waters.” People talk about making peace by “bridging their differences.” We forgive and forget hurts and wrongs by others because it is “water under the bridge.” Bridges are a symbol of reconciliation and human solidarity.

Perhaps nowhere can this symbolism be so clearly seen as in Mostar, Bosnia-Herzegovina. It is Friday, July 23, 2004, and a replica of the Stari Most, or Old Bridge, from which the city takes its name, is about to be opened.

It took ten years to build the original bridge, as each of the over one thousand stones were handcrafted to fit perfectly. It was completed in 1566. For over 400 years it withstood invasions, wars, and even earthquakes. Two days of continuous shelling from artillery brought it down in 1993.

The opening ceremony is about to begin. Church bells and calls to prayer from Mostar’s mosques blend in unison.

Children’s choirs sing a song that is popular throughout the region. The lyrics are a plea for love to survive in good and bad times.

Whirling dervishes from Turkey dance in intoxicating rhythm.

Cheers are heard—a dozen young men from Mostar have just jumped with torches in their hands off the 30-meter high stone arch into the river below.

Speeches are given by important men.

“We must work together to foster a new era in which dialogue, understanding, and reconciliation replace the turbulent past.”

“With this bridge we can prove something wonderful—hope triumphs over barbarism.”

“Let this bridge guide us in building a better future.”

We leave the speeches and mill about the crowd to find out what this bridge means to the Mostaris.

Let’s ask this man. A painter by trade, 55-year-old Zarisa Velic is a Muslim. “Do you remember how you felt when the bridge was destroyed?”

“When the bridge went down, it hurt my heart and soul, but it couldn’t prevent people from communicating with each other.”

And here is Borislav Sukic, a Croat who works for the emergency medical service in Mostar. “How do you feel tonight?”

“I feel like I’ve been born again, and I think that this feeling is shared by every Mostar resident.”

And here is one of the architects of the reconstruction of this bridge, Ivan Demirovic, who is 56 years old. “Tell us why this bridge is so important.”

“Mostar was the Florence of the Ottoman Empire. It was a tolerant and open city to different cultures. The Old Bridge was a door between East and West.”

“So why was it destroyed?”

“Destroying it was definitely intended to destroy the spirit of the city, but we must show that they didn’t succeed.”

“How did the war affect you?”

“The war cracked the city in two and came down like a storm on my family. My son Suleiman was seriously wounded in combat, my wife and daughter were deported to Ljubuski concentration camp, and I was in jail for one year. My house, on the other side of the river, was confiscated. But all of that is the past. This bridge is the future. My son and I have worked hard to rebuild this bridge.”

Next to him is another architect, Carlo Blasi, who has come from Italy to help on this project.

“Can you tell us more about the original bridge?”

“The technology used to build this bridge was very sophisticated, based on perfect geometry. It is not an exaggeration to compare its builder, Hajruddin, to his contemporary Michelangelo, and the Stari Most to the cupola of St. Peter’s Cathedral in Rome. It is a masterpiece!”

Here is a woman waiting to cross the bridge with her four young children. “How do you feel about this bridge reopening?”

“I feel great! Now I know what true happiness is.”

“What brought you here?”

“I could not resist bringing the children to the bridge. They were all born after its destruction, and this is their first chance to cross it,” she says.

The ceremony is finished. The night sky is exploding in fireworks. The signal is given, and thousands of smiling Mostar residents rush to cross the bridge.

The joy of tonight will remain for a long time to come. We pray the love remains also. As the popular song goes, “May love survive in good and bad times.”

True, the wounds of war are still here, but the healing process has begun. A bridge has been built.