The Drina is a river flowing between Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, and is the largest karst river in the Dinaric Alps which belongs to the Danube river watershed. It is a 346 kilometer long tributary of the Sava River, and it forms most of the border between Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia. Its name is derived from the Latin name of the river (Latin: Drinus) which in turn is derived from Greek (Ancient Greek: 'Dreinos').
Drina Canyon
GEOGRAPHY
The Drina is formed by the confluence of the Tara and the Piva rivers, both of which flow from Montenegro and converge on the border of Bosnia and Herzegovina, at Hum and Šćepan Polje villages. The total length of the Tara river is 144 km, of which 110 km are in Montenegro, while the final 34 km are in Bosnia and Herzegovina along which form the border between the two countries in several places. The Drina flows through Bosnia and Herzegovina northward for 346 kilometers, of which 206 kilometers (128 mi) is along the border of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia, and finally spills out into the Sava river near Bosanska Rača village in northeastern Bosnia and Herzegovina. Measured from the source of the Tara, its longer headwater, the Drina is 487 kilometers (303 mi) long.
The river is not navigable; however, together with the Tara it represents the main kayaking and rafting attraction in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro, indeed whole Balkans.
COURSE
The Drina originates between the slopes of the Maglić and Pivska planina mountains, between the villages of Šćepan Polje (in Montenegro) and Hum (Bosnia and Herzegovina). At its origin, it flows west, then makes a large curve to the northeast, around the Maluša mountains. Next, it flows through the villages of Kosman, Prijedjel, Dučeli, Čelikovo Polje, Kopilovi, Trbušće, Brod and the town of Foča. It receives the Sutjeska, Bjelava and Bistrica rivers from the left and the Ćehotina at Foča from the right.
Here the Drina carved the longest one of the several gorges on its course, the 45 kilometer (28 mi)-long Suhi Dol-Biserovina gorge between the southernmost slopes of the Jahorina mountains from the north and the Kovač mountains from the south. The villages of Zlatari, Jošanica, Ustikolina, Cvilin, Zebina Šuma, Osanica, Kolovarice, Vranići, Mravinjac, Biljin, Vitkovići and Zupčići are located in the gorge, as well as the town of Goražde. The river receives the Kolunska rijeka and the Osanica as tributaries from the left.
The Drina continues to the northeast, flowing close to the villages of Žuželo, Odžak, Kopači and Ustiprača, entering the 26 km (16 mi) long Međeđa gorge carved between the Vučevica mountains from the south and the southern slopes of the Devetak mountains from the north. The narrowest part of the Međeđa gorge is Tijesno, the 8 kilometer (5 mi)-long section of the gorge where the river is at its narrowest (only 12 meters (39 ft) wide), but also at its deepest (12 m). Here it receives the Prača river from the left and the Janjina and Lim rivers from the right. The villages of Trbosilje, Međeđa and Orahovci are located in the gorge, which is for the most part flooded by the artificial Višegrad lake, created by the Višegrad hydro electric power plant.
At the town of Višegrad, the Drina receives the Rzav River from the right and turns northwest at the Suva Gora mountain into the Klotijevac gorge. The gorge is 38 kilometers (24 mi) long and up to 1 kilometer (3,200 ft) deep, carved between the mountains of Bokšanica (from the west) and Zvijezda (from the east). The villages of Sase, Resnik, Đurevići and Gornje Štitarevo lie in the gorge and the Kukal river flows into the Drina from the right. At the Slap village, the Drina receives the Žepa river from the right and turns sharply to the west, becoming a border river between Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia near the village of Jagoštica.
Drina rafting
BORDER RIVER
The Drina flows between the mountains of Zvijezda and Sušica and it is flooded by the artificial Lake Perućac on the northern slopes of the Tara mountain, created by the Bajina Bašta power plant. The villages of Prohići and Osatica (in Bosnia and Herzegovina) are located on the lake, as well as the ruins of the medieval town of Đurđevac. The river is dammed at the village of Perućac, where a strong well springs out from the Tara mountain, flowing into the Drina as a waterfall. In addition, the waters of Drina are used for several fish ponds for the California trout spawning.
The river continues to the villages of Peći, Dobrak, Skelani (in Bosnia and Herzegovina) and Zaguline (in Serbia), reaching the town of Bajina Bašta. At the villages of Donja Crvica and Rogačica, the Drina makes a large turn, completely changing its direction from the northeast to the northwest. This distinct geographical feature forms the Osat and Ludmer regions of Republika Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina, which are separated by the river from the Azbukovica part of the Podrinje region of Serbia.
CHARACTERISTICS
Like the Velika Morava, the Drina is also a meandering river, with a very high meandering ratio (175:346), still slightly less than that of Velika Morava.
The Drina is a very fast river with cold and greenish water, which is from the limestone which constitutes a major part of the area in which the river carved its bed.
Its average depth is 3 to 5 meters (10-15 ft), the deepest being 12 meters (40 ft) at Tijesno. On average, the Drina is 50-60 meters (160-200 ft) wide, but it ranges from only 12-20 meters (40-65 ft) at Tijesno to up to 200 meters (650 ft) at Bajina Bašta and Ljubovija.
The drainage basin covers 19,570 square kilometers (4.8 million acres), branching into Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Montenegro, and Albania. The Drina belongs to the Black Sea drainage basin.
Before it was regulated by the several power stations, the Drina used to flood its valley. The most disastrous flood occurred in 1896, which destroyed the town of Ljubovija.
THINGS WORTH SEEING OR DOING
MEHMED PAŠA SOKOLOVIĆ BRIDGE
Sokollu Mehmed Pasha (Bosnian, Croatian, Serbian: Mehmed-paša Sokolović, (born 1506, Sokolovići, Bosnia - died 1579, Constantinople, Ottoman Empire) was a 16th-century Ottoman statesman from modern Bosnia and Herzegovina. Mehmed was taken away at an early age as part of the devshirmeh system of Ottoman collection of young boys to be raised to serve as a janissary.
He rose through the ranks of the Ottoman imperial system, eventually holding positions as commander of the imperial guard (1543-1546), High Admiral of the Fleet (1546-1551), Governor-General of Rumelia (1551-1555), Third Vizier (1555-1561), Second Vizier (1561-1565) and as Grand Vizier (1565-1579) (for a total of 14 years, 3 months, 17 days) under three Sultans: Suleiman the Magnificent, Selim II, and Murad III.
He was assassinated in 1579, ending a near 15-year rule as de facto ruler of the Ottoman Empire. Another unusual fact about him is that at a height of above 2 metres, he was the tallest amongst all of the Grand-Viziers that have served the Ottoman Empire.
At the highest peak of his rule, he orders to build the bridge on Drina at Višegrad that no other bridge looks alike. The bridge was built in the period from 1571 to 1577 by at that time the most famous Turkish architect Kodža Mimar Sinan. It was built in the eastern style and represents the master piece of that era.
The bridge consists of 11 arches with mild ascend towards the middle section and the exit dock on the left coast. Above the arches in the whole length are wraths on top of the fence. The total length is 179, 5 m, the height with the regular river water level is 15, 40 m and the width is 6, 30 meters. The bridge was made of stone, tuff, or bigra, brought from Višegrad spa. There is extension at the sixth pillar on both sides. On the access dock at the left river bank are three arches made with broken arches. The sofa was put in the middle of the bridge foreseen to be used for resting for passengers, across of which the stone portal is placed.
In the past there was a wooden house in the middle of the bridge with a buffer stop and a bridge guards, and that part of the bridge is therefore called The Gate. Here are two plates made of white marble with the lyrics of the writer called Nihadija in Arabic alphabet, that speak about the constructor and the year of construction.
The older and upper text was written in year 1571/1572:
„He built a magnificent bridge over Drina in Bosnia
With a line of arches at that river,
On top of the deep and noisy river.
His ancestors were not able to build anything similar,
The great Pasha made it according to the order of God,
For his name to be mentioned with the respect and gratitude
He build the bridge that nowhere else in the world exists...“
The text from year 1577 says:
„Highly respective philanthropist Mehmed-pasha, who acted as a reliable vizier for the three rulers offered the biggest heritage, which requires to be written by God. With the pure intention he decided to build the huge bridge over the Drina River. The works at the bridge were so nice, so that the passer would think it was a pearl in the water, and the sky is a shell“
Sokollu Mehmed Pasha Bridge
During its existence the bridge sustained many difficulties. The first recorded damage of the bridge was in the middle age when one of the arches collapsed. The bridge was repaired in 1873, but than in 1896 there was a big flood that wiped out most of Višegrad, but the bridge was almost intact, although Drina was deep 14,6 m. Only the stone made fence of the bridge was damaged.
During 1914 the two pillars were knocked down and the arches that aligned on them, and during the 1943 four more pillars with arches were ruined as a consequence of mining. In between the two world wars the bridge was temporary enable to be in service by use of metal construction. Detailed reconstruction of the bridge was performed during the period from 1949 to 1952.
The bridge is one of the most important national monuments in the Bosnia and Herzegovina, and was in July 2007 inscribed in the UNESCO world heritage list.
