Why a Booktrail?
1500s: The story of a small Bosnian town – Visegrad
The Bridge Over The Drina
What you need to know before your trail
In the small Bosnian town of Visegrad the stone bridge of the novel’s title, built in the sixteenth century on the instruction of a grand vezir, bears witness to three centuries of conflict. Visegrad has long been a bone of contention between the Ottoman and Austro-Hungarian Empires, but the bridge survives unscathed until 1914, when the collision of forces in the Balkans triggers the outbreak of World War I.
Travel Guide
Visegrad
Višegrad is a town and municipality located in eastern Republika Srpska, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It sits where the rivers Drina and the Rzav meet. This is the town at the centre of the story.
“The bridge spans generations, nationalities and creeds, silent testament to the lives played out on it. Radisav, a workman, tries to hinder its construction and is impaled alive on its highest point; beautiful Fata leaps from its parapet to escape an arranged marriage; Milan, inveterate gamble, risks all in one last game on it. With humour and compassion, Andric chronicles the lives of Catholics, Muslims and Orthodox Christians unable to reconcile their disparate loyalties.”
BookTrail Boarding Pass: Bridge over Drina
Destination: Visegrad Author/guide: Ivo Andric Departure Time: 1500s
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