New Bridge Mitrovica Bridge Ibar Bridge Austerlitz Bridge | |
|---|---|
 New Bridge in Mitrovica. | |
| Coordinates | 42°53′30″N 20°51′58″E / 42.89167°N 20.86611°E |
| Crosses | Ibar |
| Locale | Mitrovica |
| History | |
| Engineering design by | Freyssinet company |
| Opened | June 2001 |
| Location | |
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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]
- ^ Kostovicova, Denisa (2003-07-15). "Crossing the Bridge". Balkan Reconstruction Report. 2003 (7.15). Political Digest: CEEOL: 1.
- ^ "Associated Press". Archived from the original on 2012-10-21. Retrieved 2008-09-28.
- ^ "Associated Press". Archived from the original on 2012-10-21. Retrieved 2008-09-28.
- ^ Stojanovic, Dusan (2008-02-19). "USA Today". Retrieved 2008-09-28.
- ^ Charter, David (2008-03-19). "The Times (UK)". London. Archived from the original on August 13, 2008. Retrieved 2008-09-28.
- ^ "New York Times (USA) In Kosovo, a Peace Built on Separation". 2018-01-30. Retrieved 2019-10-04.