Solely end-on azide-bridged bimetallic Cu(II)-Mn(III) tetranuclear compound [Mn(salophen)(H2O)](2)-[Cu-2(N-3)(6)]center dot 4H(2)O shows strong ferromagnetic coupling, giving rise to a ground spin state of S = 5. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.