Zvornik boating and rafting on river Drina

Abstract

Drina is not considered to be a navigable river, because most of its flow breaks through the Dinaric mountain ranges. Nevertheless, traditional occupation of the population in the Drina Valley in the past represented navigation. Until the midtwentieth century rafting of timber and goods transportation by Zvornik boats had a major significance in the trade between mountain areas in the South and plains in the North. Based on the remaining written sources, elementary facts about sailing along Drina, before construction of the hydropower plants, have been presented within this paper, as a testimony of what life used to look like in the Drina Valley.

Drina nije plovna reka, jer se većim delom toka probija kroz planinske vence Dinarida. I pored toga, plovidba je u prošlosti predstavlja tradicionalno zanimanje stanovništva u dolini Drine. Splavarenje drvne građe i transport robe zvorničkim lađama su sve do sredine XX veka imali veliki značaj u trgovini između planinskih oblasti na jugu i ravničarskih na severu. Na osnovu sačuvanih izvora, u ovom radu su iznete osnovne činjenice o plovidbi Drinom u periodu pre izgradnje hidroelektrana, kao svedočanstvo o tome kako se nekada živelo u Podrinju.