Austria-Hungary took control of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Ottoman period The Mehmed Paša Sokolović Bridge was built by the Ottoman architect and engineer Mimar Sinan for Grand Vizier Sokollu Mehmed Pasha. Construction of the bridge took place between 1571 and 1577. It still stands, and it is now a tourist attraction, after being inscribed in the UNESCO World Heritage Site list. In 1875, the Serbs from the area between Višegrad and Novi Pazar revolted and formed a volunteer military corps, who fought in the valley of the River Ibar in 1876. Austro-Hungarian period The Bosnian Eastern Railway from Sarajevo to Uvac and Vardište was built through Višegrad during the Austro-Hungarian rule in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Construction of the line started in 1903. It was completed in 1906, using the track gauge. With the cost of 75 million gold crowns, which approximately translates to 450 thousand gold crowns per kilometer, it was one of the most expensive railways in the world built by that time. This part of the line was eventually extended to Belgrade in 1928. Višegrad is today part of the narrow-gauge heritage railway Šargan Eight. World War II On 18 April 1941 Ustashe murdered ten Serbs including Dragiša Jakšić, a president of Dobrun municipality. Many Serbs were executed by the fascist Ustashe regime along the Drina Valley for a month during the Genocide of Serbs, especially near Višegrad. Jure Francetić's Black Legion killed thousands of Bosnian Serb civilians and threw their bodies into the Drina river. In 1942, about 6,000 Serbs were killed in the village Miloševići and Stari Brod near Rogatica. In November 1941, with Italian help, the Serbian royalist Chetniks established a civil and military government in the area of Višegrad, and engaged in genocidal killing of local Bosniaks. Thousands of civilians were massacred in Višegrad in December. In March 1942, 42 Bosniak villagers were burned to death in the village of Drakan. During the Battle for Višegrad in October 1943, the Chetniks attacked the German garrison and captured the town whose Axis garrison had 350 dead and 400 wounded soldiers. 2,000 Bosniak civilians were killed after the capture of Višegrad. The Yugoslav Partisans took control of Višegrad on 14 February 1945. Bosnian War Višegrad is one of several towns along the River Drina in close proximity to the Serbian border. The town was strategically important during the conflict. A nearby hydroelectric dam provided electricity and also