Croats to rebuild historic Ottoman bridge

A popular TV series in Croatia on Suleiman the Magnificent has inspired residents in the eastern city of Osijek to rebuild a bridge that the Ottoman Sultan had built in 1526. The show "Muhteşem Yüzyıl", or Magnificent Century, chronicles the life of the Sultan and the period of Ottoman expansion under his rule, and is being broadcast in 20 European countries, excluding Austria.

The Society of Turkish-Croatian Friends and the local tourism board supported the project to reconstruct the wooden bridge over the River Drava near its confluence with the Danube.

Built three years prior to the First Siege of Vienna in 1529, the bridge was destroyed three years after the Second Siege of Vienna in 1686, as the Ottomans were retreating during the Austro-Turkish wars.