Following the decrees of the Congress of Berlin of 1878, Bosnia and Herzegovina became part of Austria-Hungary, a multinational Empire that fundamentally changed the local social structure. It is in this period that the Bridge of Sara Kašiković or the Girls’ Bridge was constructed on the right shore of the river Bregava. It was built from semi-processed stone in the year 1896, as noted in the Cyrillic inscription. The bridge connects the road and the gardens located at the other side of the river, it was built for private purposes and had a gate. The bridge, whose owner was Sara Kašiković, was built next to the former hotel Europe.

A legend tells that Sara fell in love with her neighbour Salko who lived on the other, left side of the river. When he found out that she had fallen in love with a man of a different religion, her father forced Sara to marry another man. But the memory of this love remained in Sara’s heart. Later in life, Sara built a hotel on the place where she used to meet Salko and named it Europe. The hotel had a high attic with two rooms and two small windows from which Sara longingly looked onto the other side of the river. As she was looking, she got the idea to build a bridge to keep the memory of her old love. That is how the Girls’ bridge was built. Even today, couples in love exchange tender words and watch the flowing of the river Bregava on Sara’s bridge.

Numerous other notable buildings were constructed in Stolac during the Austro-Hungarian Empire, such as the first swimming pool in Bosnia and Herzegovina or the Ibtidaija Mekteb (Islamic religious school). Unfortunately, most of these buildings were destroyed during the 1990s war in Bosnia and Herzegovina.