The bridge on Drina

The Bridge on the Drina is the Nobel Prize winning novel written by Ivo Andric, Yugoslavian writer. The story is about the life in a small town of Visegrad in Eastern Bosnia and Herzegovina. The novel begins its story in sixteen century when the famous bridge was built by Turkish Grand Vizir Mehmet Pasha Sokolovic. The bridge turns the lives of the villagers upside down and becomes the centre of their community. The story is a fiction, but the historical facts are real and so is the bridge. I read the book twice and I always wanted to walk over the bridge. The bridge is magnificent as I expected. Its monumental structure, its age and its size make it very special even for the ones who haven’t read the book. Sadly the bridge witnessed many wars and tragic moments and I couldn’t get out of my mind the facts what happened here during the last conflict.

The arches and strong pillars are architectural masterpiece.

A view on the bridge from the right (Eastern) riverbank.

In the middle of the bridge is a memorial wall with two tablets from sixteen century.

A view on Visegrad town from the bridge.

If you are travelling to Bosnia and Herzegovina it is worth to stop by at the bridge in Visegrad. The town lies in Republika Srpska entity and it is close to the border with Serbia. It takes around two and a half hours drive from Sarajevo. Apart from visitingthe bridge there is not much to do or see in Visegrad, but the way from Sarajevo to Visegrad is rewarding enough, especially the scenic route through Romanija (via Rogatica town). If you continue your way to Serbia, pay attention to Dobrun monastery close to the border.

Check out my other posts on Bosnia and Herzegovina.

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