Višegrad

Višegrad

Višegrad is a town and municipality in eastern Bosnia and Herzegovina resting on Drina river. Višegrad is a South Slavic toponym meaning “the upper town/castle/fort”.

Visegrad is famous for the UNESCO-listed bridge on the Drina, the Mehmed Paša Sokolović Bridge. Completed in 1577 by the Ottoman court architect Mimar Sinan (the greatest architect of the Otoman empire) on the order of the Grand Vizier Mehmed Paša Sokolović and immortalised in Ivo Andrić’s classic Nobel-prize winning novel,

Višegrad has parlayed this identity into a niche tourist industry by building Andrićgrad (Andrictown), a small but likeable mock-historical city core nominally celebrating the author. Andrictown is a tourist, cultural, administrative and educational complex. It is situated on a peninsula at the confluence of Drina and Rzav rivers. Andrićgrad is a project of a famous film director Emir Kusturica.

The surrounding landscapes of deep-cut river canyons are most impressive seen from a boat chugging up the Drina to Serbia. Take a one-day boat trip on the Drina River. The canyon itself is the second largest in Europe.

In the past, the canyon of the Drina was known for its large streams and whirlpools and old wooden rafts that sailed there. By the end of the 1960s the dam of the hydro electric power plant at Bajina Basta was constructed in Perucac, which turned this section of the Drina river into a peaceful lake 52 km in length. Instead of rafts, today you can enjoy a Drina river cruise in a tourist boat.

Expirienced the small town feel, enjoy a completely natural environment, listen to the sounds of the river, breathe fresh air. Take the narrow gauge railroad Visegrad – Vardište – Mokra Gora, one of the most attractive routes of the old railways in Europe, and visit monastry Dobrum.

During the ride train passes through the picturesque valley of the river Rzav, tourists have a few photo and sightseeing stops including of the Serbian Ortodox Dobrun monastery complex with a church from the 14th century.