3 legends about the origin of River Drina's name: Emerald beauty that no one will ever be able to straighten

Photo: Ivan Strahinic

Although it is not the longest river in Serbia, the Drina has a special place and special significance in the history and geography of this region.

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It was precisely this river that divided the Eastern and Western Roman Empires, dozens of bridges have been built across it, of which 25 are in use, and the Drina Canyon is the third deepest in the world after the Colorado Canyon in the US and the Tara Canyon in Montenegro.

The river, which is characterized by a specific green color reminiscent of a jewel, did not always have its current name.

Precisely because of the green color of the water, the Drina was known as Zelenka or Zelenika (based on "zeleno," Serbian for "green") until 1463 when the Turkish Sultan Mehmed Fatih conquered what is today Bosnia and Herzegovina. According to legend, he set off on a ferry across the Drina, and when he reached the middle of the river, his horse fell into the Drina and drowned.

Desperate and furious that he was left without a horse, Sultan Mehmed allegedly said: "Bu su derin!", which meant: "This water is deep." The name of the river - Drina - is supposed to have come from the word "derin."

According to another theory, the green beauty was named after the word "der", which means "to split, tear," since the river tears through the areas through which it passes for most of its 346-kilometer long course, and this vividly describes its powerful and unpredictable nature. There is a well-known saying among the people, "Nobody will straighten the winding Drina," which also speaks to the temper of this river.

Finally, there is a third theory about how the Drina got its name, and in it the "main hero" is the mythological pagan deity Drinos, to whom the people offered human sacrifices.

The river, which is described as capricious, murky, winding and seductive, is at the same time called an emerald water beauty on whose banks many spend hot summer days, and many also dare to to rafting on the Drina and enjoy the natural beauty this river is surrounded with.

Photo: Ivan Strahinic

(Ona.rs)