New Bridge, Mitrovica

New Bridge
Mitrovica Bridge
Ibar Bridge
Austerlitz Bridge
New Bridge in Mitrovica.
Coordinates42°53′30″N 20°51′58″E / 42.89167°N 20.86611°E / 42.89167; 20.86611
CrossesIbar
LocaleMitrovica
History
Engineering design byFreyssinet company
OpenedJune 2001
Location
Map

The New Bridge (also known as Mitrovica Bridge, Ibar River Bridge, Ibar Bridge or by its unofficial name Austerlitz Bridge) is a steel truss bridge crossing the Ibar river in Mitrovica, Kosovo,[1] connecting South Mitrovica and North Mitrovica. The New Bridge has become an iconic symbol of Kosovo's division,[2][3] as it separates around 80,000 Kosovo Albanians in the south from around 50 000 Serbs and other nationalities living in the north.[4] It was used as a military checkpoint and provides 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.[5] Today the bridge is open to pedestrians and there are only Carabinieri patrols from KFOR-MSU and Kosovo Police, but there is no longer any checkpoint.[6]

  1. ^ Kostovicova, Denisa (2003-07-15). "Crossing the Bridge". Balkan Reconstruction Report. 2003 (7.15). Political Digest: CEEOL: 1.
  2. ^ "Associated Press". Archived from the original on 2012-10-21. Retrieved 2008-09-28.
  3. ^ "Associated Press". Archived from the original on 2012-10-21. Retrieved 2008-09-28.
  4. ^ Stojanovic, Dusan (2008-02-19). "USA Today". Retrieved 2008-09-28.
  5. ^ Charter, David (2008-03-19). "The Times (UK)". London. Archived from the original on August 13, 2008. Retrieved 2008-09-28.
  6. ^ "New York Times (USA) In Kosovo, a Peace Built on Separation". 2018-01-30. Retrieved 2019-10-04.