New Bridge, Mitrovica

About

The Ibar Bridge (also known as Mitrovica Bridge, Ibar River Bridge, New Bridge or by its unofficial name Austerlitz Bridge) is a steel truss bridge crossing the Ibar river in Mitrovica, Kosovo, connecting South Mitrovica and North Mitrovica. The Ibar Bridge became an iconic symbol of Kosovo's division, as it separated Kosovo Albanians living predominantly in the south from Kosovo Serbs and other nationalities predominantantly living in the north. In period from 2001 (when it was re-opened) until 2014, at times the bridge was used as a military checkpoint and provided a de facto boundary and buffer zone between the mainly ethnic Serbian populated North Kosovo and the rest of Kosovo which has an ethnic Albanian majority. Over the years, Carabinieri patrols from KFOR-MSU and later Kosovo Police secured the bridge. Today, the bridge is open to pedestrians and there is no longer any checkpoint, but is secured by the Kosovo Police.

Adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA). Photography via Wikimedia Commons.