FROM BANJA LUKA TO DERVENTA: A JOURNEY VIA PRNJAVOR ONCE TOOK UP TO SIX HOURS

Travelling from Banja Luka to Derventa is considerably faster today than it was almost a century ago, when passengers travelling along this route via Prnjavor could spend as many as six hours on a bus.

PHOTO: Radio Prnjavor

A photograph of a bus from the late 1930s offers a glimpse into a time when travelling was a real undertaking, with winding gravel roads requiring considerable patience and time.

THE “KOD PET LAMPI” INN WAS A REGULAR STOP FOR TRAVELLERS

According to the memories of older residents of Prnjavor, recorded in Radio Prnjavor's well-known programme “Kod pet lampi”, the inn of the same name was a regular resting place for passengers and drivers travelling along this route.

The “Pet lampi” inn, run by Dušan Đerić, a well-known local resident of Prnjavor, was one of the recognisable landmarks of everyday life in the town at the time.

The bus shown in the photograph belonged to the company “Autopromet” and transported passengers between Banja Luka and Derventa, passing through Prnjavor.

UP TO SIX HOURS ON THE ROADS OF THE PAST

Due to road conditions at the time, the journey between Banja Luka and Derventa took between five and six hours.

Today, the photograph serves as a valuable reminder of what public transport, road infrastructure and everyday life looked like in this part of the region nearly a century ago.

The story of the bus, its passengers and the “Kod pet lampi” inn has been preserved through the memories of Prnjavor residents and the archives of Radio Prnjavor, keeping a piece of local history alive for future generations.