The Goat’s bridge is one of the four old bridges that are still preserved in the area of Sarajevo. The other three bridges are the Šeher-Čehaj’s Cuprija, the Latin Cuprija and the Roman Bridge (at Plandište near Blažuj). The building is made of limestone and sapwood. It has one bow with two circular apertures. It is 42 meters long, 4.75 meters wide, and the vault is 17.5 meters long.
In the Ottoman age, the Goat’s bridge was a place where the emperors of the emperors were welcomed – Viziers. Every new Vizier would have made a welcome on the bridge. Before him, all the more visible people in Sarajevo would come out, and a common people would also gather because it was one of the most important events for the city.
In honor of the new Vizier, some of the brave guys would jump from the bush to Miljacka, and he would give them money. Jumping is a feat for admiration, because the bridge is high and Miljacka does not have a greater depth at that place.
According to the folk legend about the emergence of the Goat’s bridge: the poor shepherd by keeping the goats noticed that they are unusually long held around a shrub on the river. When he looked better under the bush, he found a cup full of golden coins. With this money, he paid for his education, and after many years, having become respectable and wealthy, he decided to build a bridge at Miljacka, in the same place where his goats showed gold.
Today, it is believed that the bridge was formed during the great action of arranging the road network, in the time of Mehmed-paša Sokolović (large vizier 1565-1579). At the same time there are other famous bridges in Bosnia and Herzegovina – the Arslanagi bridge near Trebinje, the Old Bridge in Mostar, and the famous Cuprija on the Drina in Visegrad.
