The bridge on the Drina (around 1890)

The Bridge on the Drina (orig. Na Drini Ćuprija or На Дрини Ћуприја in Serbian Cyrillic) is a novel written by Serbian writer Ivo Andrić, who was rewarded with a Nobel Prize in 1961. Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... The Serbian language is one of the standard versions of the Å tokavian dialect (former standard was known as Serbo-Croatian language). ... The Cyrillic alphabet (or azbuka, from the old name of the first letters) is an alphabet used to write six natural Slavic languages (Belarusian, Bulgarian, Macedonian, Russian, Serbian, and Ukrainian) and many other languages of the former Soviet Union, Asia and Eastern Europe. ... Serbs (in the Serbian language Срби, Srbi) are a south Slavic people living chiefly in Serbia and Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina. ... Ivo Andrić. ... 1961 (MCMLXI) was a common year starting on Sunday (the link is to a full 1961 calendar). ...

This book describes the relations between Serbs and Muslims during the occupation by the Ottoman Empire.

The novel gives a historic overview of relations among people in eastern Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is recommended reading for anyone who would like to understand the former Yugoslavia. Yugoslavia (Jugoslavija in all south Slavic languages, in Macedonian and Serbian Cyrillic Југославија) is a term used for three separate but successive political entities that existed during most of the 20th century on the Balkan Peninsula in Europe. ...

The story lasts about four centuries and is in some sense a collection of short stories. What unites the book and becomes in a sense the main "character" is the bridge over the Drina River in Višegrad, now eastern Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Drina is a river on the border of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia and Montenegro. ... ViÅ¡egrad is a town in eastern Bosnia and Herzegovina on the river Drina, located on the road from Goražde and Ustiprača towards Užice in Serbia. ...

Almost from the beginning of the book Andrić focuses on a small boy taken from his mother as part of the levy of Christian subjects of the Sultan. Andrić describes how the mothers of these children follow their sons wailing, until they reach a river where the children are taken across by ferry and the mothers can no longer follow. That child becomes a Muslim and, taking a Turkish name (Mehmed, later Mehmed pasha Sokolović), is promoted quickly and around the age of 60 becomes Grand Vizier. Yet that moment of separation still haunts him and he decides to order the building of a bridge at a point on the river where he was parted from his mother. Mehmed Pasha Sokolović (in Turkish Sokollu Mehmet Paşa) (1505 or 1506-June 30, 1579) was born in the village of Sokolovići near the town of Višegrad in Bosnia of Serbian parents. ... A Vizier (وزير, sometimes also spelled Wazir) is an Arabic term for a high-ranking religious and political advisor, often to a king or sultan. ...

Already then, even before it has been built, Andrić is portraying the bridge as something with the power not merely to bridge a river but to heal divisions; yet it is quickly to become clear that in this role it is a flawed unifier.

The construction works starts in 1566 and 5 years later the bridge is completed (together with a caravanserai or han), signifying a very important link between Sarajevo pashaluk (the territory of the present-day Bosnia and Herzegovina)and the rest of the Turkish empire, and replacing the unreliable boat transport across the river. Already at this point the reader learns how serfs are forced to build it and how they try to strike and sabotage the construction site because of poor working conditions. Events January 7 - Pius V becomes Pope Selim II succeeds Suleiman I as Sultan of the Ottoman Empire Religious rioting in the Netherlands signifies the beginning of the Eighty Years War in the Netherlands. ... A caravanserai (also spelt caravansarai, caravansary) or khan (the usual term in Arab countries) was a roadside inn where caravans could rest and recover from the days journey. ... Vilâyet (also eyalet or pashaluk) was the Turkish name for the provinces of the Ottoman Empire. ...

The middle of the bridge, called "the gate" is wider, and it quickly becomes a popular meeting place for people from Višegrad and the surrounding area in a relaxed mood which is still typical of present-day Turkey and most of the Balkan peninsula. The reader also learns that there are no tensions between the Muslims (referred as Turks during the whole novel), Christians (the Serbs), Sephardic Jews and the Roma. Rather, they stand in solidarity with one another during the regular floods of the Drina.

About a century later Habsburg Austria conquers what is now Hungary, and thus a crisis within the Turkish empire begins. Due to lack of state funds, the caravanserai is abandoned, while the bridge project is completed, so well-constructed that it stands for centuries without maintenance. Flag of the Habsburg Monarchy; also used as the flag of the Austrian Empire until the Ausgleich of 1867. ...

The first nationalist tensions arise in the 19th century when the Serbian uprising in the neighbouring Belgrade pashaluk (now Serbia) begins. Even so neighbour never raises a hand against neighbour; instead soldiers from all parts of the empire establish a guard-point at the gate and behead suspicious Serbs and potential rebels. Serbia and Montenegro  â€“ Serbia    â€“ Kosovo        (UN administration)    â€“ Vojvodina  â€“ Montenegro Official language Serbian1 Capital Belgrade Independence Declared from the Ottoman Empire Gained autonomy 1817 Independence July 13, 1878 Area – Total – % water 88,361 km² n/a Population – Total (2002) (not including data for Kosovo and Metohia Province) – Density 7. ...

After the Congress of Berlin Serbia and Montenegro become fully independent counties while the Austro-Hungarian Empire receives a right to occupy Bosnia and Herzegovina and thus turn it into a protectorate. Since the completion of the bridge time has seemed to stop, and the local people have many difficulties in accepting all the new things that come with Austrian rule. And there are many changes. First a barracks is built at the site of the caravanserai and suddenly the town experiences what would now be called globalisation. People from all parts of the Austro - Hungarian kingdom arrive, opening their businesses and bringing the customs of their native regions with them. A narrow gauge railway line is built to Sarajevo and the significance of the bridge is soon reduced, but not completely, as will become apparent subsequently. The Congress of Berlin was a meeting of the European Great Powers and the Ottoman Empires leading statesmen in Berlin in 1878. ... Official languages Latin, German, Hungarian Established church Roman Catholic Capital & Largest City Vienna pop. ...

This modernisation includes, among other things, that children begin to be educated in Sarajevo, and later some of them continue their studies in Vienna. They bring home ideas from the rest of the world and, along with the newspapers that are now available in Višegrad, nationalistic ideas also emerge, especially among Serbs. Another "contribution" to these changes is the year 1908, when a crisis in Turkey gives Austria an excellent opportunity to formally annex Bosnia and Herzegovina. During this annexation crisis it becomes evident that Austria sees the Kingdom of Serbia and its royal dynasty, the Karađorđević as a serious obstacle to their further conquest of the Balkans. (In 1904 the Ottomans expelled another dynasty, the Obrenović from the Serbian throne.) And the Balkan wars in 1912 and 1913, when Turkey is almost completely pushed out of the Balkans, do not help to foster better relations between Serbians and Austrians, as they 'undermine' the middle span of the bridge, with its friendly inter-ethnic relationships and cameraderie. Many young Serbian men pss over it at night and smuggle themselves across the border to Serbia. The reader never learns if the most famous of them, Gavrilo Princip, passes across this bridge, as he's not mentioned. 1908 (MCMVIII) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ... The Kingdom of Serbia was a very real era. ... The Karađorđević Serbian ruling dynasty is descended from Karađorđe. ... 1904 (MCMIV) was a leap year starting on a Friday (link will take you to calendar). ... The house Obrenović(i) ruled Serbia from 1815-1842 and 1858-1903. ... The outcome as of April 1913 Boundaries on the Balkans after the First and the Second Balkan War (1912-1913) Distribution of races in the Balkan Peninsula and Asia Minor in 1923, Historical Atlas by William R. Shepherd, New York (The map does not reflect the results of the 1923... 1912 (MCMXII) was a leap year starting on Monday in the Gregorian calendar (or a leap year starting on Tuesday in the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ... 1913 (MCMXIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday. ... Gavrilo Princip in prison cell at Theresienstadt Gavrilo Princip (Serbian Cyrillic:Гаврило Принцип) (July 25, 1894 – April 28, 1918) was a Bosnian Serb committed to South Slav unification who killed Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, and his wife Sophie, Duchess of Hohenberg in Sarajevo on June 28, 1914. ...

In 1914 Gavrilo Princip assassinates Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo which starts World War I. The Kingdom of Austria and Hungary declare war on Serbia, and the Austrians begin to incite the non-Serbian population of Višegrad against the Serbs living in the town. The bridge with the old road to Sarajevo suddenly regains its importance, as the railway line is not adequate to transport all the war material and soldiers who will soon invade Serbia. As we learn from the historical account, the Serbian army defeats the Austrians on their first invasion and starts to advance towards Bosnia, so the Austrians decide to establish the front line on the Drina. They evacuate Višegrad and blow up portions of the bridge. 1914 (MCMXIV) was a common year starting on Thursday. ... Gavrilo Princip in prison cell at Theresienstadt Gavrilo Princip (Serbian Cyrillic:Гаврило Принцип) (July 25, 1894 – April 28, 1918) was a Bosnian Serb committed to South Slav unification who killed Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, and his wife Sophie, Duchess of Hohenberg in Sarajevo on June 28, 1914. ... Archduke Francis Ferdinand. ... Sarajevo is the capital and largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina, located at 43°52N and 18°25E. According to a 1991 census, its population was 529,672; currently estimated at around 700,000. ... Combatants Allies: Serbia, Russia, France, Romania, Belgium, British Empire, United States, Italy, and others Central Powers: Germany, Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria, Ottoman Empire Casualties Military dead:5 million Civilian dead:3 million Total dead:8 million Military dead:4 million Civilian dead:3 million Total dead:7 million World War I...

Since that point in time the bridge has been repaired, but it is currently endangered due to pressure from the rising level of the Drina River.

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• The Bridge's entry on the 2006 Endangered Sites List