A WALK THROUGH THE STORY "THE BRIDGE ON THE ŽEPA"

One without the other two is incomplete. Much has been said, narrated, and rewritten about that bridge on the Drina. Most of us know this literary work almost in detail. However, a lesser-known bridge and a lesser-known river were also the subjects of our Nobel laureate's writing. 

"The Bridge on the Žepa" is a short story by Ivo Andrić. Where is the Žepa? Where is the bridge on it? I'm taking you to a hidden place...

I read the short story "The Bridge on the Žepa" a long time ago. Probably when I was still in elementary school. I was fascinated by it, and although, as I like to say, I was born a geographer, I never thought about where the Žepa was. I wasn't even interested. 

At that time, and for much later, it was "somewhere over there" to me. A lot of time passed between my first reading of "The Bridge on the Žepa" and the moment when several acquaintances invited me to visit Žepa, the bridge, and the confluence of the Žepa River with the Drina, or rather with the Drina's Perućac Lake, with a group of mountaineers from Vlasenica. 

Motivated by the fact that I had read the story but had never been to the bridge, I decided to visit this national monument of Bosnia and Herzegovina, located in the municipality of Rogatica. Besides that, I was also interested in the natural beauty of this area, which I had only heard about.

We traveled from Vlasenica to Han Pijesak via the main road (M-19 Sarajevo-Zvornik). From Han Pijesak to Žepa, we had to endure 20 kilometers of very poor road conditions. 

The poor road infrastructure didn't surprise me, as it's a common sight in these parts. Nature in this region is generous, alternating between meadows, coniferous trees, deciduous trees, and a mountainous landscape.

In documentaries, we admire the untouched nature of Canada and North America, yet we have such a natural environment right here, close to us. 

The Žepa River is a left tributary of the Drina. It originates 6 km south of Han Pijesak at the foot of Mount Žep (1537 m). The total length of the Žepa River is 25.1 km. It flows into Perućac Lake on the Drina near the village of Slap, which is situated at an altitude of 291 meters. This reservoir is 54 km long. 

The total surface area of Perućac Lake is 12.4 km², with a water volume of 340 million m³, and the greatest depth is 70 meters. Enthralled and "blinded" by the surroundings, I didn't even notice that we had arrived in Žepa.

Žepa is a valley with several scattered hamlets. It is situated between two peaks, Vratara and Zlovrha. The Žepa River somehow rushes down from the mountains like an avalanche into the canyon and the once-wild waves of the Drina River, which is now tamed by the Perućac hydro reservoir. 

We walked through areas that, although inhabited, still somehow felt untouched. As I mentioned at the beginning, it's a hidden place, and it truly is. Geographically, this location is relatively close to me, yet it feels so far away, out of place and time. It reminds me of a shy child hiding behind a wall while the parents have guests. Similarly, this region is somehow shy, hidden, and quiet.

We reached the bridge over the Žepa River. The first thing that caught my eye was how the bridge blended so seamlessly with the surroundings that it seemed as if it had been a part of those rocks for millions of years. I likely got this impression because the stone from which the bridge was built is the same stone found throughout this area. 

However, the bridge wasn't always in this location. On the contrary, it has only been in its current location since 1966. Before that, it was near the confluence of the Žepa River with the Drina. With the construction of the Bajina Bašta Hydroelectric Power Plant, the bridge was threatened because the construction of the reservoir raised the water level by 10 meters above the highest point of the bridge. 

As a result, the bridge was dismantled and reconstructed at a new location. It is now about 500 meters from the settlement of Žepa.

It is assumed that the bridge was built shortly after the construction of the bridge on the Drina in Višegrad, in the last quarter of the 16th century.

It may not be as graceful, stylistically refined, or imposing in size as the bridge in Višegrad or the Old Bridge in Mostar, but it has a soul, a unique elegance compared to all other structures of this kind in Bosnia and Herzegovina. There is something special about it; it is located on almost vertical steep banks and a narrow gorge of the Žepa River, which, although not large, flows restlessly beneath it. 

Next to the bridge is a plaque that reads, "In the midst of desolation, a beautiful stone bridge spans the Žepa Gorge in a single, unique arch. Down below, a wild mountain stream rolls its noisy waves into the Drina, while above, a human creation shows how the Turks once built," Otto Renner.

"The Bridge on the Žepa" didn't come under the pen of our Nobel laureate Ivo Andrić without reason. "The Bridge on the Žepa" and Ivo Andrić go hand in hand. Ivo received the Nobel Prize. "The Bridge on the Žepa" could win many awards for countless different reasons. I stood on that perfect little bridge and closed my eyes. I remembered the words from Andrić's short story, then opened my eyes again. I saw the struggle of the people of that region with the unruly river. 

The swollen Žepa destroyed their wooden bridges; they built, it destroyed, until they finally got this beautiful stone bridge. I see an Italian craftsman coming from Constantinople, planning how to build the bridge, drawing, calculating, living in a hut near the construction site. 

I see the beginning of the construction, which the river thwarted once. However, he didn't give up, even though the locals whispered a legend among themselves that the Žepa didn't want a bridge on it, like a wild horse that refuses to be saddled. I relived the entire story while standing on that bridge. At every moment, it was clear to me why Andrić was inspired by the bridge.

It was the beginning of spring when I visited the bridge on the Žepa. I can tell you freely that April in Žepa is exceptional. At the end of the day, I was simply amazed that I hadn't discovered this "hidden place" earlier. 

Leaving that historically and geographically significant site, I felt as if I were leaving a story. I was, at least for that one day, in some way, a part of Andrić's short story "The Bridge on the Žepa," and I can tell you, it's a beautiful feeling.

The author of this story is Marko Perendić, a geographer, poet, naturalist, animal lover, dreamer, rebel, and Partizan supporter.

Written by: Marko Perendić