The Tailors' Bridge, eleven arches over the Erenik

There are famous Ottoman bridges in the Balkans, and then there are bridges like this one, barely known outside the area and nearly 200 m long. For me the Tailors’ Bridge is the best reason to leave Gjakova for Prizren at an easy pace rather than doing the journey in one go.

A bridge paid for by a guild

The Tailors’ Bridge (Ura e Terziut in the official database, Ura e Terzive on OpenStreetMap) crosses the River Erenik at km 7 of the road from Gjakova to Prizren, beside the village of Bishtazhin, home to 317 people in 2024 according to ASK. Its official record says Gjakova’s tailors’ guild built it in the 18th century, hence the name, since terzi means tailor.

The same record explains that it mattered a great deal economically, linking trade routes between provinces of the Ottoman Empire. It has been under permanent protection since 22 December 1962.

Eleven arches and almost two hundred metres

What sets it apart is its shape. It is built of local stone and has 11 semicircular arches of different sizes, with ten relieving openings between them. It is 192.8 m long and 5.0 to 5.1 m wide. The record calls it a feat of construction for its time, given how little money and technology its builders had.

The last restoration it mentions dates from 1982, by the provincial institute for the protection of monuments then based in Pristina. Today, according to the DTK, it is in good condition, although it lacks regular maintenance.

Once your dates are set, check which hotels are still free in Gjakova before prices climb.

How to see it

There is no ticket and no opening time, since it is a bridge in use. I would pull over carefully nearby and walk down to the bank to see it side-on, which is when you can count the arches properly. Take care on the road after rain, since the FCDO warns rural routes deteriorate in bad weather, avoid heading back after dark, and note that a rental’s green card is not valid here.

Gjakova’s other bridges

If bridges are your thing, two more in town have permanent protection. The Tanners’ Bridge (Ura e Tabakëve), to the south, is 127 m long with seven arches and now carries only pedestrians. The Taliq Bridge, beside the Gjakova Grand Bazaar, is small at 26 m, and an inscription dates it to 1816. According to its record, the Taliq Bridge was built by the tanners’ guild in their own quarter; it has one large arch and two small ones near the banks, with a relieving opening between them, and is 4.05 m wide. The Tanners’ Bridge linked the town with the villages to the south and, beyond them, Albanian towns such as Shkodra and Kukës, and its arches span 14 to 16 m. Between the three you get a sense of how goods moved through this part of Kosovo, and if you carry on south, Prizren has another stone bridge of a very different kind. And if these bridges appeal, the nine-arched Vushtrri bridge is the territory’s other great example, with the quirk that the river no longer runs beneath it.

If you would rather have a local show you round, book a guided tour in Tailors' Bridge and choose by the reviews.

Once your dates are set, check which hotels are still free in Gjakova before prices climb.