MOST U NARODNOJ TRADICIJI, PUTOPISIMA I UMJETNOSTI

THE OLD VIŠEGRAD BRIDGE IN FOLK TRADITION, TRAVELOGUES AND ART

 
    ,   
  
  


  ,    The bridge in Višegrad, a supreme architectural
        achievement and an inseparable part of the lives of
,  
    not only the residents of Višegrad and across Bosnia
      ,     and Herzegovina, but also of all travellers who have
    !  "    , # had the good fortune to see it, has become an eternal
  $   #   #. and inexhaustible source of inspiration.
% #   #      Indirectly and directly, it is connected to
     ,    &$ . tradition and ideas, beliefs and customs.
' , ,  #!,     Enduring, lasting, permanent, but at the
   # (  !, same time surreal with its rened lines, the bridge has
  (   #  fascinated generations and become part of their being.
 &". )    & !   Constructed to tame the overowing river for all
 $,     #!   eternity, the tufa arches have inspired the imagination
 *    # ! to conjure supernatural forces without whose help
&  $ #" !&     ,    weak human hands destined for transience would not
#!,   $  #. have been able to perform such a feat.
+  ( !  !  Its functionality and elegance have left an
!   &   # # indelible impression on travel chroniclers of all ages,
 #,  -! / ! & 17.  3   from Evliya Çelebi in the 17th century to 20th century
 , 4 - '- , 3   .+  authors such as Peter Handke, Joe Sacco, and Peter
  &  !   !   Maas, and its solid piers and arches have inspired
#  , !    # # . 4  folk poets and academic prose writers alike. The
unforgettable outline of the bridge carried one of these
   – 6 8" –    &
writers—Ivo Andri—to the very pinnacle of literary
& " # ,        
achievement: the Nobel Prize for Literature.
#: %& !    .
The intoxicating harmony of this stone
9# !     ;
construction bridging the Drina River in Višegrad

        !.
has forever remained in the artists’ eye. Its silhouette
+  !  & !   , ,
has been recorded in brushstrokes and sketches, or
!      !   !
artists would spend hours, even days, studying how
 ! #  , #  "
the light plays across the smooth stone surfaces,
 &       !$
trying to record the essence of the dreamlike scene. It
#. <  " # #! 
thus became a motif in artworks of extraordinary and
 $  !      !
universal value.
 .

171 BAŠTINA - BA[TINA - HERITAGE

MOST U NARODNOJ TRADICIJI, PUTOPISIMA I UMJETNOSTI

   FOLK LEGEND

 #  ;
  The bridge on the Drina in Višegrad
#    # . U$ has become part of folk legend. The signicant
   ,  # &  architecture of such structures, and especially those of
  &!   !   vital importance for the population of a certain area,
    &!,    almost always become important determinants in
   &   &! shaping the collective consciousness, which includes
!    ,   aesthetic views and value systems. These are then
 (        manifested, especially in patriarchal societies, in the
 . 9  , # & #! form of folk traditions, legends, folklore, proverbs,
 , (   (  superstitions and oral literature—both prose and
# , !   ,  , #!, poetry. Architectural buildings of exceptional
         – # monumentality, such as the bridge in Višegrad, have
 #  . 8  &     fascinated both their observers and users and affected
  !,   
  , their imagination, generating a rich and varied
( "  #$   , range of myths about the bridge, now belonging
 !!     ,   to the intangible heritage. The legends relating to
!! &   #   the Višegrad bridge have been recorded in older
     ! ! . Bosnian-Herzegovinian periodicals—in almanacs
3    
  " # published at the end of the 19th and beginning of the
&     "  &- 20th century1, as well as in the rst specialist journal
  $ #  – ! for history, archaeology and ethnology—the Journal
&   19.  #$  20.  ,1 of the National Museum in Sarajevo.
 #  $ $#  &! Legends inspired by the bridge on the
 ,  !  ! – )! River Drina in Višegrad are sometimes more or
U     '  . less grounded in historical fact, such as the case
3    " #  ; recorded in the notebooks of Zaharije Bogdanovi

     -     in 18882 describing the construction of the bridge
  $ ,   ! $  and the so-called “Stone Inn”. The folk legend is
 &    U " based on historical fact as regards the time it took
1888.  ,2       #  to build the bridge—seven years—and the free
    „W  “. kitchen (imaret), as well as the construction of the
%   !   mosque in Sokolovii. Some parts of the legend
$   !        published as part of Bogdanovi’s writings cannot be
  –    – # substantiated by material evidence. For instance, no
 !  #  ! & #! evidence, archaeological or written traces have been
  ( ),       found to corroborate the folk tale about Mehmed
 Y '!". %   ! Pasha’s endowment—a church in his native village
!   &   "    of Sokolovii which he is said to have founded.
# #  !  –  The folk legend has replaced the role of

1) Bosna, br. 379, 27. IX 1873; Z. Bogdanovi}, 1) Bosna, no. 379, 27. IX 1873; Z. Bogdanovi, Višegradska uprija
Vi{egradska }uprija, „Bosanska vila 1888“, str. 174- (The Višegrad Bridge), Bosanska vila 1888, 174-175.
175. 2) Z. Bogdanovi, Višegradska uprija (The Višegrad Bridge), pp.
2) Z. Bogdanovi}, Vi{egradska }uprija, str. 174-175. 174-175.

BAŠTINA - BA[TINA - HERITAGE 172

 MOST U NARODNOJ TRADICIJI, PUTOPISIMA I UMJETNOSTI

    -#  & - Mimar Sinan with that of an architect called Rade
 -       or Mitar, and the skill of the great Turkish architect
#  '!"    ! ,   was supplanted by the belief that the bridge could be
# ,   #,  ! constructed until a blood sacrice was made in its
  # . honour. Thus, as in many civilizations worldwide,
`  #   ' in the many accounts or symbolic allusions to ritual
    , #   { ! sacrice in honour of great building enterprises, the
,   "  !     construction of the Višegrad Bridge has fostered
# !        the story of the twins Stoja and Ostoja who were
         entrapped in the pillars of the bridge and their
#   . <  ,   devastated mother from whose breasts milk pours
  !  #!  , to this day, leaving white marks on the tufa blocks,
     #  ! only to be petried beneath the arches of the bridge.
&!$    !  Reality, intertwined with the legend, indicates that
#!  !   # ,  the mythical scene of the petried milk reects the
 
  " # ! #$ process of disintegration and re-sedimentation of
 &! '  9,   limestone. The folk belief in the healing power of
$       "  “milk” also inspired certain rituals—in the summer,
 $ #    $ ! , when the Drina water level drops, “stalactites” of
 " & !      hardened limestone were broken off the bridge,
&!,  &   ! #  broken into clumps or ground into a powder and
. ', #!   !   ,   given to breastfeeding mothers who were running
    #    !  out of milk.3
# #  #  # !  There are a number of other recorded folk
 $. %    !  tales about the bridge in Višegrad and its builder.
" „! “ #!   ( &$ According to one of them, before being taken
–  ,   ; # ,   from his homeland as part of the devirme or “boy
„ “,     $, #     tribute,” the Ottoman system of recruitment of boys
! #    & # ! for military service, Bajo Sokolovi, later to become
! .3 Mehmed, “... went to school in \a]ak to study for
3   ! &   the priesthood.”4 Here, the legend is loosely related
 #  
   to historical fact. Bajo Sokolovi did study at the
     . 3      Miliševa monastery near Prijepolje, but the folk
 '!", #   , #   tale’s implication that this Christian education had
           to have been gained near a larger Serbian mediaeval
$,   „ .. !  $  ## centre is indicative. In this case, \a]ak stands for
/$“.4 9  !        a general term that may even imply the Mileševa
 $  –  '!" $  monastery. According to the same legend, as they
 !  ,  3 #, !  were leaving, when the Turks gave the Christian
   ## $ !   boys chosen to be educated in one of the centres of

3) Dž. ^eli, M. Mujezinovi, Stari mostovi u Bosni i Hercegovini, 3) Dž. ^eli, M. Mujezinovi, Stari mostovi u Bosni i Hercegovini,
Sarajevo 1969, str. 52. Sarajevo 1969, p. 52.
4) A. Softi, Zbornik bošnja]kih usmenih predaja, Sarajevo 2005, 4) A. Softi, Zbornik bošnjakih usmenih predaja (Anthology of
str. 91. Bosniac Oral Traditions), Sarajevo 2005, p. 91.

173 BAŠTINA - BA[TINA - HERITAGE

MOST U NARODNOJ TRADICIJI, PUTOPISIMA I UMJETNOSTI

  " & !  the Ottoman Empire lunch, but also “spoons three
&!    "  #    meters long,” only the shrewd Bajo gured out how
  – /$ &  ! $ &    to make sure they were not left hungry because of
#  #, #       these unusable utensils. “Come on,” he said, “You
 !  . 3    ,  feed me and I’ll feed you.” This anecdote testies
#! ,   <  "  $ to the general fascination with the bridge—whoever
&  &  !    commissioned it and nanced its construction must
  9 }  !  $, !  have exhibited extraordinary wisdom and ingenuity
„    “,      already at such a young age.
       # & #& The vizier’s endowment in the village of his
  !   !, # !: „ birth features again in the following legend. It differs
    ,   "  & .“ 8   $ from the previous one inasmuch that it says both
 # (  –   buildings—the mosque and the church—still exist.
 # $  #!      The former is in Sokolovii, inhabited by Muslims
#        and the latter in Podravanj, inhabited by those of
 !. Christian Orthodox faith. The legend indicates two
3     &  established beliefs certainly inspired by fascination
 ! #    #  . {!  with the splendour of the Višegrad bridge. One of
  #  #   &  them concerns the grand vizier’s attachment to the
– Y   –    # ,   impoverished area he came from and which he did
'!",    !,   not forget even in the blaze of his immaculate career,
3 ,   #! '&. loyally bestowing endowments upon it—not just the
~           , bridge, but a han (inn, hostel), an imaret, a fountain
 #   " #  and a mosque. In this respect, the legend has a basis
 ! ! #"
  " # . 4   in facts conrmed by historical sources. The other
       !    belief—that the pasha who is reliably known to
      #    have been “carefully educated in Islam”5 must have
&   & #     been partial to the Christian Orthodox population
&,     "  & –  of his place of origin and the faith into which
 ,  "  ,  , $  , Y . ` he was born, as he demonstrated by building the
  ! !    ! $  church—is probably based on the fact that Mehmed
#   . ;  Pasha Sokolovi was largely responsible for the
  ,   #,     #    reconstruction of the Serbian Orthodox Patriarchate
 & „& & ! “,5  in Pe. Since his rivals and enemies in the intrigues
& !  #!   of court suspected the vizier of not accepting
        –   # Islam in good faith, Mehmed Pasha could not have
  -     ,  ,  allowed himself any covert Serbian patriotism, and
$      -# '!" & the reconstruction of the Patriarchate of Pe would
 !   !   & #! have been an act justiable only by political reasons
# # 3 ".   "   and the manoeuvres of the Ottoman Empire.
   #   #   The legend continues: “In memory of the
  $!     place where he parted with his mother, he erected
# !,   -#  &  

5) R. Samarxi}, Mehmed Sokolovi}, Beograd 1975, str. 10. 5) Radovan Samardži, Mehmed Sokolovi, Beograd 1975, p. 10.

BAŠTINA - BA[TINA - HERITAGE 174

 MOST U NARODNOJ TRADICIJI, PUTOPISIMA I UMJETNOSTI

 #      #  & ,  a bridge,”6 convinced that a successful soldier and
& 3 " # $     ruler, a great founder to whom the world is indebted
&  $ #!$ ! for the splendid beauty and colossal strength of the
 $   9 bridge, must have been above all a model son with
}  . the utmost respect for his parents. The tales about
3# $ : „`   " the bridge thus simultaneously testify to moral
   !    #! # principles, and the stone bridge is closely intertwined
 “,6      #    with the most rened recesses of the human soul.
!,  !  &      Another folk legend attributes the
     #    construction of the Višegrad bridge, as well as
" # ,  #    &   , the bridge on the Neretva River in Mostar, to the
#  # #   . W Romans.7 This legend is also closely associated to
    $     $ the splendid structure spanning the Drina River.
 ! $ !,    " #  Its monumentality, the inconceivable power of its
  # #!"   #  ! domination over the dangerous torrential waters,
    . had to be ascribed to an ancient people. Little was
;   #  ##  known, but much conjectured about the colossal

  ,    development and superhuman powers of the ancient
 %    , {.7 %  Roman “race.”
!    !    #  Through the centuries, the bridge was built
  ! ! #    ;. +  into the language of folklore in the form of proverbs
  !,  #   and sayings. “Still standing like the bridge over the
  # &   , ! Drina” is a saying referring to stability of character
  &  ##      ,  recorded by Mehmed-bey Kapetanovi Ljubušak,
   ! ,    !    and certainly refers to the stability of the bridge in
    "   „ “ extreme conditions such as great oods, the greatest
{. of which occurred in 1896. Consistency as well as
W        endurance and persistence are also expressed by the
   &! #!   $. following comparisons in common Bosnian speech:
„9` `  ; " #“,   “Tough as the bridge over the Drina” and “Firm in his
   #  ,    beliefs as the bridge over the Drina.” In his collection
  &    -&  W# " of folk proverbs, Vuk Stafanovi Karadži published
* &       # a proverb inspired by the splendid Višegrad bridge:
   ,    ! “As good a deed as the bridge over the Drina.”8
##! ,     "   1896.  .
;  !     The Bridge in Poetry and Travelogues
   !  " #  , # The Višegrad bridge left an impression on
  : „< `  ; the travel chroniclers who passed through Bosnia and
" #“  „<   `  ; " #“. Herzegovina in the past and recorded information

 ' (" WY" &  & about the bridge. As long ago as the 17th century,
 #!    #
6) A. Softi, Zbornik bošnjakih usmenih predaja, p. 92.
6) A. Softi, Zbornik bošnja]kih usmenih predaja, Sarajevo 2005, 7) ibidem, p. 93.
str. 92.
8) Dž. ^eli, M. Mujezinovi, Stari mostovi u Bosni i Hercegovini,
7) ibidem p. 52.

175 BAŠTINA - BA[TINA - HERITAGE

MOST U NARODNOJ TRADICIJI, PUTOPISIMA I UMJETNOSTI


!
!
#

 : „

 ; " #“ –  
 „“
$ &   
!.8
  !"  #
Evliya Çelebi wrote about the bridge. Passing through
Višegrad in 1664, he gives an exhaustive description
of the town and says: “In this town on the river
Drina, there is a large bridge with eleven arches. Its
every span is like the Milky Way constellation. The

 " # ! 
 connoisseur of architecture and building is awed and
  # #
  #! #!! astonished by the sight of this bridge.” Citing the
  

  &*
! #
inscription recording its construction, carved on the
 .

" 17. 
   
# -! kapija of the bridge, Çelebi continues: “When once
/
!
&. 3!
" 

 1664. a great ood tore down one arch of the bridge, the

  " # #   town spent seventy seven thousand groschen on its
: „`    
 ; ! repair.”9


!   

 . ' In 1566, the second year of Mehmed
 
#
   

W  Pasha’s service as grand vizier, there is mention of
'!. /
  
 

  his caravanserai with an imaret built on the right
 
 
#
  
 bank of the Drina River, by the road leading to the
!
 "  .“ } "  river. Evliya Çelebi writes about this building as
#   !
  # , well, but in somewhat exaggerated tone: “ .. in the
/
!
& : „W 

 & 
!
Town, there are seven hundred houses, a beautiful
##!

  ! 
    ( mosque, a han as big as a fortress that can house ten

 
 ## # 


  thousand horses, camels and mules, then there is a

  .“9 beautiful bath and running water fountains… All of
; 


 

- these are endowments from Mehmed Sokolovi.”10
#, 1566.

 
#

 The vizier’s caravanserai, commonly known as the
  
, #   
 “Stone Han,” could not house a hundred caravans
&! ;
, #
 #   


. with a hundred horses at the same time, but it was
9 
 

-! /
!
&  certainly a large and well constructed building.11

, 
 
!
#


: „ .. Among the diplomats at the French General

  
   ", !
# Y, Consulate in Travnik, special attention should be
 
!  ,  
 # given to Chaumette des Fossés, the Consul from
 

  , !  ,  1807 to 1808, who traveled across Bosnia and left a
!
#  #!  $

 
 "  ... valuable book of travelogues.12 He had the following
'
   &


 '!".“10 to say about the Mehmed Pasha Sokolovi Bridge:


 ,  
  “The bridge in Višegrad, on the Drina River,
„W
 “ 

   # is of modern construction and is the best preserved
   #  , ! 
 ancient monument. It was built by the Greeks in the
& 
!  &  
.11 12th century, during their temporary dominion over
Bosnia from 1163 to 1180. This bridge, consisting

8) Dž. ^eli, M. Mujezinovi, Stari mostovi u Bosni i Hercegovini, 9) E. Çelebi, Putopis, Odlomci o jugoslovenskim zemljama, Sarajevo
Sarajevo 1969, str. 52. 1996, pp. 262-263.
9) E. \elebi, Putopis, Odlomci o jugoslovenskim zemljama, Sarajevo 10) ibidem, p. 262.
1996, str. 262-263.
11) R. Samardži, Mehmed Sokolovi, p. 371.
10) ibidem, str. 262. 12) C. des Fossés, Voyage en Bosnie dans les années 1807 et 1808,
11) R. Samarxi}, Mehmed Sokolovi}, str. 371. Paris, 1816.

BAŠTINA - BA[TINA - HERITAGE 176

 MOST U NARODNOJ TRADICIJI, PUTOPISIMA I UMJETNOSTI

   (  of ve arches, is practically triangular in shape,

  !  ! < # & because its middle part is so raised and pointed…
# !   †   ‡ ,  ! The endurance of the bridge is a testimony to its
 ! 1807-1808. ,   solidity, after so many centuries, in a place where
##        the Drina is particularly torrential. The dimensions
# #.12 9    -# '!" of the millstones from which it was built are very
 # : considerable.”13 Des Fossés was obviously unfamiliar
„
  ,  ;,   with history and folk tradition—otherwise he would
  , &  $    not have made a mistake in attributing the building of
# . '!   ) 12.   ,  the bridge to the Greeks. Despite this error, however,
   #    , the record shows this Frenchman’s fascination with
 1163.  1180. <      the solidity and durability of the bridge.
#  ! ,   &!    !, Travelling from Sarajevo to Istanbul in
!     #     1852, Ivan Frano Juki left another written record
  .. '!  # $! about the Višegrad bridge. Starting from Rogatica,
    , #! !  ", after three hours, “... we saw in a valley the rushing
       ;  &$ Drina River and the famous bridge over it, and on the
&. !        right bank the small town of Višegrad... The stone
 !   .“13 ; ‡ $!  bridge on 24 arches is not only a feat on account
 & #      of its solidity, but also famous for its art and the
  – #   best after the Mostar and Konjic bridges over the
  &     & ! Neretva, to which it can compare. In the middle of
 . `# , &  #  the bridge, there is a barrier, a tower with sentries. At
   ‡  !"  night the bridge is closed.”14
" " # . Travelling in Bosnia and Herzegovina in
6 ‡ 4 ", #   " 1852. 1857, the Russian Consul Alexander Gilferding
  '   },  noted that in Višegrad “… a beautiful stone bridge
    #  
  was built,” and that he was told it was the best bridge
" #. W    { ,   in Bosnia. The travel chronicler himself describes
 „ .. !    ! #! the bridge as “beautiful,” regretting only that “… it
;      ! " #   is marred by two half-derelict wooden sentry towers
  &! ! 
  ..  set in the middle of it…”15
   24     !   
"  "  #   ! , 13) ibidem, pp. 24-25. Des Fossés makes the same mistake in attribut-
#!   $  %  , ing it to the Greeks. Other travel chroniclers – Pertusier and Vignolle
&      # .   – also err in attributing the bridge to the Greeks or trhe Romans ; Pertu-
sier (Charles), La Bosnie considérée dans ses rapports avec l`Empire
   #  ,   $,   ottoman, Paris 1822,356; AG, Mém. et. reconn, Aperçu sur la Bosnie
par le général de division Vignolle, 26 jullet 1807.

12) C. des Fossés, Voyage en Bosnie dans les années 1807 et 1808,
14) I. F. Juki, Putopisi i istorijsko-etnografski radovi (Travelogues
Paris, 1816.
and Historico-Ethnographic Works) Sarajevo 1953, pp. 121-122.

13) ibidem, str. 24-25. De Fose pravi istu gre{ku kada ga
pripisuje Grcima. Oma{ku pri atribuciji mosta Grcima
ili Rimljanima ine i neki drugi putopisci – Pertizje
i Vinjol; Pertusier (Charles), La Bosnie considéré dans
ses rapports avec L’Empire ottoman, Paris 1822, str. 356;
AG, Mém. et. reconn., Aperçu sur la Bosnie par le général
de division Vignolle, 26 jullet 1807.
15) A. Giljferding, Putovanje po Hercegovini, Bosni i Staroj Srbiji
(Travels in Herzegovina, Bosnia and Old Serbia), Sarajevo 1972, pp.
104-105. Giljferding’s description refers to the oak tower that stood
above the sofa and kapija of the bridge, and which was demolished in
1886. A. Bejti, Sokoloviev most na Drini u Višegradu (Sokolovi’s
Bridge on the Drina in Višegrad), „Narodna uzdanica, Calendar for the
year 1945“, Sarajevo 1944, pp. 148-149.

177 BAŠTINA - BA[TINA - HERITAGE

MOST U NARODNOJ TRADICIJI, PUTOPISIMA I UMJETNOSTI

; &"  .“14 The Višegrad bridge was also visited by
{   ! 8!  )( , travel chroniclers of modern times. Immediately
#   "      1857.  , after the end of the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina,
&   
  „ ..   ! # the bridge whose durability has witnessed countless
   ..“,      $    wars is mentioned by our contemporaries—P.
&  . 3 #   #  Handke16, Joe Sacco17, and Peter Maas.18 (illus. 1)
  #  „# “ ! "  
„..     #!     
, #     ..“.15

    &
 # #     . 9 #
       , 
      #
        Peter Handke16,
Joe Sacco,17  Peter Maas.18 (
1)

$%  # &'#  &"

#
% #    „ ..
      !, & ! #!$   $  . 1 – Velika kamena uprija bila je i ostala inspiracija
#    #    mnogih putopisaca
Illus. 1 – From the outset, the great stone bridge has been an
       $  inspiration to many travel chroniclers
   .“19 {    
#!$  !$ 60  85. cm,  
#! ,    !    Verses from the Inscriptions Engraved on
    , ! #: the Kapija of the Bridge
“)#   -#, 8(  Immediately after it was built “… a great
  , white plaque was brought, with an engraved
/ $ &     inscription, and built into the kapia, into that wall
! , of reddish stone which rose a good six feet from
3      & the parapet of the bridge.”19 This is a stone slab
   , measuring 60 cm by 85 cm, built into the portal of
the bridge and bearing engraved verses in Turkish
written in Arabic script:
14) I. F. Juki, Putopisi i istorijsko-etnografski radovi, “The great Mehmed Pasha, the Asaf of his
Sarajevo 1953, str. 121-122.
time,
15) A. Giljferding, Putovanje po Hercegovini, With whose noble presence the world gained
Bosni i Staroj Srbiji, Sarajevo 1972, str. 104-105.
Giljferdingov opis odnosi se na kulu od hrastovine glory,
koja je stajala iznad sofe i kapije mosta, a koja je
sru{ena 1886. godine, A. Bejti|, Sokolovi|ev most
na Drini u Vi{egradu, „Narodna uzdanica za godinu
1945“, Sarajevo 1944, str. 148-149.
148-149 16) P. Handke, Zimsko putovanje do reka Dunava, Save i Drine (A
16) P. Handke, Zimsko putovanje do reka Dunava, Winter Journey to the Danube, Sava and Drina Rivers), Beograd
Save i Drine, Beograd 1996. 1996.
17) J. Sacco, Safe Area Gorazde, New York, 1966. 17) J. Sacco, Safe Area Gorazde, New York, 1966.
18) P.Maas, Love Thy Neighbor (New York: Knopf, 1996). 18) P. Maas, Love Thy Neighbor, New York: Knopf, 1996.
19) I. Andri|, Na Drini |uprija, Beograd-Sarajevo 1958, str. 83. 19) Ivo Andric, The Bridge on the Drina, p. 67

BAŠTINA - BA[TINA - HERITAGE 178

 MOST U NARODNOJ TRADICIJI, PUTOPISIMA I UMJETNOSTI

%  "  "       Spent his fortune on legacies for God’s good
 &   # . pleasure.
U    !   &  No one can say that fortune spent on good
# #  & , deeds has been wasted.
         During his lifetime he disbursed gold and
 ! & #, silver for his bequest,
`     ;  Knowing that good deeds are the nest legacy
 ! , anyone can leave.
6       # He built a great bridge over the river Drina in
 ! . Bosnia,
%   &    , A line of arches over the river,
%    #   This deep, swift-owing river,
, Where his precedessors had been unable to
 #", $, # build anything.
  -# $  With God’s help, its founder, Mehmed Pasha,
;     #  #  ensured
 &!" , That his name would be spoken with respect
3          and gratitude.
, He built a bridge that has no equal in the
3    "   ##    world,
  &  !, So do not say that fortune has been wasted
%  '     " which has been spent in good deeds.
  $ I pray to Almighty God that its founder’s days
;   #!    will pass
   "    In wellbeing and that he will know no sorrow
%,  "   (), in his life.
 $  : Nihadi, on seeing the completion [of the
‘

 
 ,   bridge], expressed this chronogram:

 .’ ‘May Allah bless this wonderful, this great
979. .” and beautiful bridge’.” 979 AH/1571/7220
% #! ,      Another stone slab measuring 189 cm by 79
#!$,  !$ 1,89  79 cm, !   cm built into the portal of the bridge bears another
  , # Y !-  #: chronogram written in the jali naskh script:
“U ! !    - “During the reign of the ruler of the world
,  ' !, Murad Khan, son of Selim,
;&, #   -#, The benefactor lord Mehmed Pasha,
W   !  " Who served as Grand Vizier loyal to three
!    !  , rulers,
%#  "  & ,     Created the grandest of legacies, may the Lord
 #! God receive it!
`         ; With pure intent he built with his own resolve
' ! $"  A great bridge over the river Drina.
 ! .
)   #  ! # 
    20) Translated into English by Saba Risaluddin

179 BAŠTINA - BA[TINA - HERITAGE

MOST U NARODNOJ TRADICIJI, PUTOPISIMA I UMJETNOSTI

/         The structure is so exquisite that all who see it
& ,   &      . Regard it as one of the pearls of the river,
 , #      "  With the vault of the heavens as its shell.
 &  $, God grant that the edice of his fortune and
6 #         $ his life be strong,
  . And grant him whatever he desires in this and
%   $ ,    the everlasting world.
&!   : Nihadi told me this chronogram, may those
‘  -#    #  who see it be blessed:
 ’ ‘Mehmed Pasha built this bridge over the
985. .” water’.” Year 985.
' ! 979.  985.  The author of the verses written in 979
# Y,  1571/72.  1577/78.  and 985 of the Hijra calendar, that is in 1571/72
   ,20    # and 1577/78 CE21, is the famous Sarajevo poet
  #         / ! & and scholar Muhamed \elebija Karamusi, who
W ",    #  used the pseudonym Nihadi.22 His fascination with
%.21 +    #  ! & Mehmed Pasha’s magnicent endowment as well
  -#  &,     as his deep respect for its founder were shaped into
 & # #   , &!$  an unforgettable poetic achievement that became an
  & #    ,   inseparable part of the bridge. At the same time, this
#!    . 6  , poetry, like the structure to which it is dedicated,
 # ,       # " , attracted the attention of residents of Višegrad as
#!$!  ,   $& ( !, if by some magic formula: “The people gathered
#
 : „;        around the inscription and looked at it until some
 #  #  !   ,    seminarist or koranic student was found who would,
&   ( ! ! (  &, with more or less ability, for a coffee or a slice of
  !    ,    ( ! water-melon or even for the pure love of Allah, read
 ! &  , ! #  &  #, the inscription as best he could.”23
#$ #  &    .“22

20) Kod hronograma se opa`a hronolo{ki, sadr`ajni
i logiki anahronizam. Naime, kod starijeg natpisa
stavljena je godina 979, dok je kod mlaxeg hixretska
985. godina. Me|utim, kada se pa`ljivo razmotri
stilizacija oba hronograma, dolazi se do uvjerenja
da se ovdje radi o zamjeni zadnjih polustihova
(misri), koji trebaju da nam daju podatke o poetku i
dovr{etku gradnje mosta. Ovi anahronizmi mogu da
se otklone na taj na{in da predzadnje polustihove
(misre) zamijenimo tako da se polje predzadnjeg
stiha starijeg natpisa stavi na mjesto predzadnjeg
polja mla|eg hronograma i obrnuto, M. Mujezinovi",
Mujezinovi ,
Islamska epigrafika Bosne i Hercegovine, knj. 2,
Sarajevo 1998, str. 117-120.
21) Nihadi je umro 996 (1587/88) godine, M. Mujezinović,
Islamska epigrafika Bosne i Hercegovine, knj. 2, str. 120; H.
Šabanović, Književnost Muslimana BiH na orijentalnim
jezicima, Sarajevo 1973, str. 82.
22) I. Andri,
Andri , Na Drini uprija,
uprija, str. 83.
21) The chronogram contains a chronological, contentual and logical
anachronism. The older inscription is dated to the year 979 AH, while
the more recent bears the date 985 AH. However, upon closer inspec-
tion of the style of both chronograms, we are led to believe that the last
hemistiches (misri), recording the start and completion of the contruc-
tion of the bridge, have been reversed. These anachronisms can be
removed if we reverse the penultimate hemistiches of the inscription,
i.e. by replacing the second to last hemistich of the older inscription
by the penultimate verse of the more recent inscription and vice versa.
M. Mujezinovi, Islamska epigraka Bosne i Hercegovine, knj. 2, (Is-
lamic Epigraphs in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Vol. 2), Sarajevo 1998,
pp. 117-120.
22) Nihadi died in 996 (1587/88), M. Mujezinovi, Islamska epigra-
ka Bosne i Hercegovine, knj. 2, (Islamic Epigraphs in Bosnia and Her-
zegovina, Vol. 2), Sarajevo 1998, p. 120; H. Šabanovi, Književnost
Muslimana BiH na orijentalnim jezicima (Literature of the Muslims of
BiH in Oriental Languages), Sarajevo 1973, p. 82.
23) Ivo Andric, The Bridge on the Drina, p. 67

BAŠTINA - BA[TINA - HERITAGE 180

 MOST U NARODNOJ TRADICIJI, PUTOPISIMA I UMJETNOSTI

() !" Folk Poetry

6$   19.   Credit must go to researchers of the late 19th
!     # &!  century for the publication of folk poetry, a treasury
#  ,        that includes verses inspired by the splendour and
   ! ! #"  $  ! fascinating harmony of the Višegrad bridge. 24

  .23 The folk poem, steeped in fear of the wrath

% # ,    of the wild river upon which “no bridge could ever
 &        „ be made,” “nd at the same time fascinated by the
" #  ! $“,    achievement of the founder and the architect, gives
    #    the fullest expression of the extent to which the
 , ##    !   famous Višegrad bridge permeated the people’s
  
    ! consciousness and ignited the poetic imagination:
    #! #  “Mehmed Pasha served three emperors
 : And three towers of treasure earned,
„   #    Then he stood contemplating,
6   !  &!, What to do with the treasure
3   ! # , To give it to the poor,
W  "  &!   To pour it into the Drina
6!` " &!  , Or to build good deeds across Bosnia
6!` " &! ; # He contemplated all and settled on one:
6!` "  #   To build good deeds across Bosnia
' !    !: And rst a bridge on the Drina.”
; "  #   In these verses, the folk poet ascribes the
3#  ; " # .“ role of builder to the legendary Mitar, and illustrates
`      # $ the spellbinding scope of the feat with verses in
!   #  !    , which Mehmed Pasha addresses the architect:
   " & #  !   “Mitar, when ‘ur’e’s tribute reaches you,
     -# &" Go to the town of Višegrad,
  : And build a bridge on the Drina,
„W   ”     , Take with you up to three hundred
8   
  , craftsmen
3   ; " # ; And a thousand child day labourers,
6 #     To lift the cold stones.”
6    , The actual feat of construction was
† "      ".“ incorporated into the fantasy of the poem in verses
W     # describing how the construction could not begin
  ( #  #   until “the Hawk Mehmed Pasha” sent Mitar the
   !   #$  architect a “talisman,” but even so the life of the
„'    #“     builder is threatened by a force from beyond physical
#! „! “, #     experience. His steed leapt out of the Drina and:
   !   “Brought up a wood nymph
($  . +   $ Her owing hair wrapped

23) K. H“rman, Narodne pjesme Muhamedovaca, Sarajevo 1888, 24) K. H“rman, Narodne pjesme Muhamedovaca, Sarajevo
str. 78. 1888, p. 78.

181 BAŠTINA - BA[TINA - HERITAGE

MOST U NARODNOJ TRADICIJI, PUTOPISIMA I UMJETNOSTI

 ; : Around the steed’s straight legs

„6  & ! ! She had come to drown Mitar.”
{     &! The legend of the blood sacrice, the twins

   #  built into the bridge, can be found in folk poetry as
;!   # “ well—the “wood nymph” stopped disrupting the
~     , &! construction works only after the sacricial ritual
  , #     was performed.
#  – „& ! !“ # !   According to the folk poet, the ordeals did
           ! not cease when the building of the bridge
& . was completed. One day:
“The Drina ran murky and wild,
6  , #   # $ , The bridge on the Drina swayed.”
 # !    . 4  And the architect tested the generosity of
: the founder, asking of Mehmed Pasha:
„; ;    #, “So take a silver shovel
U   ; " #“ To bestow upon the murky Drina.”
<      !  Thus the combined generosity and
$,  "    -# : municence of the founder and the skill and wisdom
„'   & !# of the architect create a work of eternal value in the
3   #   ; “ consciousness of the people:
<   ,    “And so the bridge on the Drina stood,
  &$        Stood then, stood forevermore.”
    ,   !  #! The universal categories of high ethical
 : consciousness, as the only ally of the human mind
„9   ; " #, and efforts in the eternal aspiration to achieve noble
9 ,   .“ and exalted ideals, their paths always obstructed by
` !    $ dark forces, have been celebrated by the people in
 ,        verses directly related to the stone bridge in Višegrad.
     $      The richness of the language, the measured verses,
#!      !,  the unerring gift for the development and resolution
  #  # $  $ ! , #  of conict, place the folk verses inspired by the
        Višegrad bridge among the highest achievements of
  
  .   , epic poetry.
   ,  #    
       ,   The Bridge in the Works of Ivo Andri*
  
  " # “Of all that a man builds in his passion for
      # #  . life, nothing is better and more valuable in my eyes
than bridges.”
  )"' % )(+ These are the words of the Nobel Laureate
„9    $   Ivo Andri, the most important prose writer from this
 #  ,    region in the past century. He received the highest
$ &     .“ recognition in literature in 1961 for his novel The
9   $ & %& ! Bridge on the Drina. The author borrowed the title
   , 6 8", for the novel from a verse of a “Muslim folk song
$  #  # ! about the building of the Višegrad bridge:

BAŠTINA - BA[TINA - HERITAGE 182

 MOST U NARODNOJ TRADICIJI, PUTOPISIMA I UMJETNOSTI

  # !    . % Go to the town of Višegrad,

#   !  ! And build a bridge on the Drina.”25
     1961.  #  Ivo Andri was born on 9 October 1892
 „% ; " #“. %!  in Dolac near Travnik. He spent his childhood in
$       #       Višegrad where he attended primary school. He
&$  #      graduated from secondary school in Sarajevo and

  " # : went on to study Slavic literatures at the faculties

„3   
  of philosophy (the humanities) in Zagreb, Vienna,
;    ; " #“24 Crakow and Graz. During World War I, he was a
6 8"    9. & 1892. prisoner of the Austrian government in an internment
 ;! #  <. ;   camp in Doboj. Between the two World Wars, he
# 
      held the post of envoy of the Yugoslav government
! . )   '  ,  in Berlin. At the outbreak of World War II, due to
(!( ,    !   , disagreements with the authorities in Belgrade, he
U & ,  $ , W  ) . ` 3 resigned his post of envoy and returned to Belgrade.
   &  $  8  During World War II he led a secluded life in his
!   ! ;& . at in Belgrade and prohibited the printing and
` #    3  ;    publication of his works. At the same time, he wrote
 !   # ! his best texts, works that would achieve worldwide
 !  !  ! . 3 & fame. He died on 13 March 1975.
;     &  !  Ivo Andri’s most famous novel—The
!   #     Bridge on the Drina, published in 1945—is a
&  "   . U   chronological account of great event surrounding
;      # $   the bridge over the Drina in Višegrad. The bridge is
     " # the point of integration of the novel’s narrative and
 &   !. `    its central gure. Everything is transient; only the
#  &    "   bridge remains to show the frailty of human destiny.
  ! . `  13.  1975.  . The bridge is a place where historical characters
%#  6 8" meet those from the writer’s imagination.
– % ; " #, &  1945.  The novel begins with a long geographical
– ! #  ! &   description of the Višegrad area and an account of
#  ;
  .     the legends about the bridge’s construction. The
$       ! origins of the legends are national myth and an epic
&!. ' #!      vision of the world which is the equivalent of the
     & .     myth. As a rule, legends have parallel Christian and
   ( !$  a Muslim versions.
!   #! #$   . The novel ends in 1914 when troops of the
{ #$    ( Austro-Hungarian monarchy badly damaged the
#
       bridge while retreating. The destruction of the bridge
!     . 3 ! !   coincides with the death of Alihodža, one of the most
 !   #    imposing characters in the novel, symbolizing the
    !   . end of the Ottoman period.

24)  . Jandri, Sa Ivom Andriem (1968-1975), Beo- 25) Lj. Jandri, Sa Ivom Andriem (1968-1975) (With Ivo Andric),
grad 1977, str. 87. Beograd 1977, p. 87.

183 BAŠTINA - BA[TINA - HERITAGE

MOST U NARODNOJ TRADICIJI, PUTOPISIMA I UMJETNOSTI

~    # #! #! ! ,  Between the beginning and the end, between
"   !   . the building and the destruction of the bridge, the
W  # 1914.    narrative spans four hundred years in which Andri
 # 8    , #!$  , creates various episodes to chronicle the destinies of
&  ! . '      the residents of Višegrad of all faiths.
  8!Y,     The bridge, a silent witness, remembers the
!  ,  &!   mutual intersections and permeations, and at time
&   . the antagonism between different cultures, faiths
6  #$   ,     and traditions, two civilizations, East and West. The
    ,   ## $ !  bridge is the only enduring, constant, eternal point,
  $     , ( where the friction and turmoil that inevitably lead to
  # 8"   & conicts (between characters and between countries)

      . are felt and seen with more clarity than elsewhere, in
      # a material form clear as crystal.
  # ,   The novel about the bridge, like most of
!$  ! ,    ,  Andri’s novels and short stories, feeds on the history
! , $  # .   , of Bosnia, a country of crossroads where Christianity
#, #,    # , and Islam and their respective lifestyles meet and
 $ $         intertwine; a country where wars are waged as well
   #  & (  as peace-time inter-religious and political struggles
!    )  "    interrupted by short and illusory truces. As a country
    ,  ! $, of contradictions, Bosnia fosters a specic culture of
#  "  &! . living, full of both vitality and atavism.
{    ,    " The people who are caught by dint of fate
  8"    ##  on such a stage play only transient dramatic episodes
   ,      in the vast theatre of history.26
   $      #, A master of our literature, to the end of
 $ ,    # his life he remained attached to the bridge of his
  ( !  #!$ && ,  childhood, and was concerned with its fate.
!#    #. W   When he visited Višegrad in October 1972,
# $    &   !  Andri noticed changes in the river and bridge caused
 , #  !, !  . by the building of the hydroelectric plant: “The Drina
*    ,   & , $ is stagnant. It does not ow as before, but leaks! Since
  #,    the hydroelectric plan was built in Bajina Bašta, the
 #  ! # bridge has lost its slender and beautiful stature. Look,
 .25 doesn’t it seem as if the arches are drowning in the

!       water? In the series of misfortunes to pass over this
          river and its slender arch, this is the most dangerous,
&       & . for it has deprived her of her restlessness, her colour,
3! # 
  and the murmur of her waters. You see, the water
& 1972.  8"  $ #  has risen to above the bridge’s knees and deprived
       !  the arches of that slenderness and beauty that could
 !  : „;  !. 9  have been bestowed only by this karst and the skilful

25) www.gerila.com/knjige/katalog/869.htm 26) www.gerila.com/knjige/katalog/869.htm

BAŠTINA - BA[TINA - HERITAGE 184

 MOST U NARODNOJ TRADICIJI, PUTOPISIMA I UMJETNOSTI

  $   ,  "  ! 9    hands of architects from the past. You should know
 !  , " #  that changing riverbeds used to be forbidden by holy
 &!    ! # . 3!  ,  law; it was grave necessity that made them ow in

   $   !   ? ` just such a direction.”27

   "   # ! #     
   ! , #  ,    The Bridge as Motif and Inspiration in Visual
  !  , &   .
 ,   Art
" # ## !   !   ! 
  !    ! #    ! The oldest known drawing of the Višegrad
#          bridge was published in the Allgemeine Bauzeitung
 . < &         in 1873. The drawing shows the sentry tower in
 &! &      ; the middle of the bridge (illus. 2). Although it
#  # &  !        is primarily of documentary value, this drawing
# .“26 cannot be said to be devoid of artistic value, and also
clearly shows the fascination of the author with the
 & #%  )$+  '&%" harmonious relationship between the structure and
#" the surrounding landscape.28
% #  
  A number of other drawings, mainly by
 &   8!!       anonymous artists, attest to the interest of Austrian
1873  . %        civil servants in the Bosnian cultural heritage and,
 &   (
2). 3  it would seem, in utilitarian buildings in particular.
 #      , One of these sketches, drawn in 1889, focuses on the
 !  !     " $ view of the portal in the middle of the bridge seen
   # ,   $ from upstream (illus. 3), while another shows the
(   $  upstream left corner of the bridge, where part of the
  #  #  .27 approach ramp can be seen through the opening of
9     the arch29(illus. 4). These are probably (judging from
$  &  !  !  ,  the illegible signature) by the same artist of 1889
$  # &  &  !   , who sketched an unknown resident of Višegrad, akin
 $   !  , ! to the characters from Andri’s novel, resting on the
  . 4   , $  1889. stone sofa, while in the background, in dissonant
 , (  #!   #!    contrast to the idyllic composition of man and stone,
 !     (
3),28  an electricity pole stands, bearer of light bulbs and
  #   !     , power cables.30
       #! The stone bridge on the Drina in
# (
4).29
   (  " #  Višegrad is a motif of a series of artworks,
!   $ ##)   $  especially from the second half of the 20th
1889.       (  , century. Bosnian-Herzegovinian artists, mainly
##  !  8"  ,  ( $ professors from the Fine Arts Academy, have

26) . Jandri, Sa Ivom Andriem (1968-1975), str. 162. 27) Lj. Jandri, Sa Ivom Andriem (1968-1975), p. 162.
27) Dž. ^eli-M. Mujezinovi, Stari mostovi u Bosni i Hercegovini, 28) Dž. ^eli, M. Mujezinovi, Stari mostovi u Bosni i Hercegovini,
str. 142. p. 142.
28) ibidem, str. 143. 29) ibidem, p. 157
29) ibidem, str. 157. 30) ibidem, p. 155.

185 BAŠTINA - BA[TINA - HERITAGE

MOST U NARODNOJ TRADICIJI, PUTOPISIMA I UMJETNOSTI

C.2 -  
    
 
        „Allgemeine Bauzeitung“ 1873
(,  , 1998, 
. 177)
Illus.2. - The oldest known drawing of the Višegrad Bridge published in Allgemeine Bauzeitung in 1873 (\eli,
Mujezinovi, 1998, p. 177)
 #
 ,     , immortalized the bridge in their art. Vladimir
 !  #  !$ Vojinovi painted it in tempera on card in the 1950s,
#      and then in the 1970s Mario Mikuli did a series of
$    ,  ! $  &, sketches and oils on canvas. Prominent artists from
$ !  &!-#.30 the local scene tried their hand at immortalizing
W    ;
  on canvas the stirring encounter between the
  $  !  , sculptural shapes of the bridge and the light and
# &    #! 20.  . - colour reections from the water of the dramatic
  $ ! ,  surrounding landscape. In the 1980s, Ibrahim
#(  8  !  , Ljubovi, Vojo Dimitrijevi, Mica Todorovi and
  $!  " #  ! . Mladen Kolobari could not resist the demanding
< #    #   #    challenge of the bridge on the Drina. It remained
 #!  "
!
", forever in the eye of the artists, seen as a personal
 #    ,     discovery of an eternal, non-temporal category of
  #!   !". U$ universal harmony. Hasan Fazli and Mersad Berber
  " !    !   have immortalised the bridge in their graphics.
  &  #!   $ Since 1994, artists have gathered in Višegrad
&   $   !# ! &! each year to spend a week in August socializing and
    !  !$ exchanging experiences, knowledge and inspiration.
They come from Banja Luka and Sarajevo, Knin
and Moscow, from America, Belgrade, Budapest
30) ibidem, str. 155.

BAŠTINA - BA[TINA - HERITAGE 186

 MOST U NARODNOJ TRADICIJI, PUTOPISIMA I UMJETNOSTI

and \a]ak, Soa and Shanghai, Užice and Trebinje,

Japan, Sweden, Belgium, the Ukraine, and Greece.
They come to see the bridge, to be inspired by its
manifold symbolism, to penetrate the mystery of

C. 4 -  
 
         . 


     

 (,  ,
1998., 
. 194)
Illus. 4 - Older drawing of upstream left corner of bridge.
Part of the approach ramp can be seen through the opening of the
arch, (Čelić, Mujezinović, 199,p. 194)

its metaphysical splendour. By painting the bridge

on the Drina, they strive, as once its commissioner
and builder did, to combine vision and reality, a
dream made up of transparent ashes of bluish and
golden light and the reality of the torrential river
and its stone overlord.31 In these endeavours, the
best manage to immerse themselves in the far-off
reections of Mehmed Pasha’s longing and Sinan’s
C. 3 - 
         

– 
  1889 virtuosity.
Illus. 3 - Bridge portal as seen from upstream – drawing Some of the artists, who, in the past eleven
from 1889, (\eli, Mujezinovi, 1998, 181 years, have come to the Višegrad artists’ colony and
    ! # . expressed in paintings and drawings their rapture
9    20.   6& inspired by the old stone bridge, are at the very peak
* &",
 ; ",  <", of recent artistic activity in the country and abroad.
!  W!&"   !   In the Višegrad Town Gallery, various transpositions
   ;. 9    of this motif can be seen in works signed by Veljko
  ,       !$ Mihajlovi, Biljana Vukovi, Divna Jelenkovi,
   $ ,      Zdravnko Mandi, Branko Nikitovi, Melisa Poper,
 !  . ` ($ Erika Marija Gutenšvager, Julija Suhoveckaja,
  " #    $!  Hadik ‘ula and many other artists whose works
‡!"     & .
9 1994. 
   
31) According to V. Grandi, Višegrad Art colony 2004, foreword in
  # !    the exhibition catalogue, Višegrad 2004.

187 BAŠTINA - BA[TINA - HERITAGE

MOST U NARODNOJ TRADICIJI, PUTOPISIMA I UMJETNOSTI

      # !    are prominent on the contemporary domestic and
   ,     ". international art scene. (illus. 5)
;!  !   ' , W  The Višegrad bridge has featured in
 ,  8  ,  ,  #   documentaries on at least two occasions,. In the
/$, '(  †, `  < &, 1970s, it gured as part of a Film News feature
4#, †  ,  ! , ` , )$ . on old stone bridges on the Drina and Žepa, and
;! " # # ,      was later immortalised in the unforgettable lm by
   &!,  # the famous Yugoslav director Žiko Risti, whose
    ($ . '! " extraordinary visual effects compete with the
  ;   ,     educational value of the lm.
   # $!   , #
  ,    #
 # #!$  !  !  
 !        #.31
`   &    #!
     !     -
# $   '  .
6      ,  
#!     ,  !
!
 , "    
, !    ! 
, ##     !
!      . ` )
! 
  !$ !
#      
  !  ## 
 !",

", ; 4 ! ", U
",  %",  ! 3# , C. 5 -!.   „"     “
-  )   , 4 ! '  , Illus. 5 - B. Nikitović, Connecting More than Two Banks
 ” !     ! 
$  &     " 
  !   (
5). Mehmed Pasha’s and Sinan’s bridge on the
`   
  Drina in Višegrad has also enriched our horizons in
" # &!  #     everyday life. In 1992, in Belgrade, a 5000 Dinar
(!. '     20.  , bill was printed with a drawing of the monumental
#  ‡! , !  bridge on its reverse side, and at the moment the
(! #      200 Convertible Mark bill bears a portrait of Andri
 ;  ˜ #,  #     $  and the splendid bridge over the Drina.
  & (!   And once again, the intertwining of the
 !     ˜ {", $ Višegrad bridge with our lives and its power to
     ! (   "  extract the meridian of universal values from those
   " . with a gift was shaped into a luminous thought by
Ivo Andri:
“There are no buildings that have been
31) Prema V. Grandi, Likovna kolonija Vi{egrad 2004,
predgovor u katalogu izlo`be, Vi{egrad 2004.
built by chance, remote from the human society

BAŠTINA - BA[TINA - HERITAGE 188

 MOST U NARODNOJ TRADICIJI, PUTOPISIMA I UMJETNOSTI

  -#  '  #  where they have grown and its needs, hopes and
;
  &     understandings, even as there are no arbitrary
     . ) lines and motiveless forms in the work of the
1992.    # $  5000 masons.”32
 $         !
" # ,      # $
 200  &!   8" 
#    ! ! #   #
; .
6 #  # #!  

  " #    

  "   &     
    !   &!
   6 8":
„%  ! $  ,   
      ! ,  
# &,    ,    
# !  & ! &!
  .“32

32) I. Andri, Na Drini uprija, str. 21. 32) I. Andri, The Bridge on the Drina, p. 21.

189 BAŠTINA - BA[TINA - HERITAGE