Type: The Bridges of Sarajevo
Many wooden bridges (drvenije) were built in Sarajevo during the period of Ottoman rule. One such bridge was on Bentbaša, where the timber from the surrounding forests was harvested, collected and then put into the Miljacka to drift downstream to Sarajevo.
A second one spanned the river between Šeherćehajin and Emperor's Bridges, there was a third one called Hadži Bešlijina Drvenija and collective memory makes note of a few other such bridges, none of which stood the test of time.
The bridge that now goes by the name, Drvenija, is found between Ćumurija Bridge and Čobanija Bridge and was built in 1898, during the time of Austro-Hungarian rule.
During bad weather, the Miljacka River would often wash this wooden bridge away, but it was always rebuilt.
The last reconstruction was carried out in 1988, when the then-famous Sarajevo construction company, Hidrogradnja, donated a reinforced concrete bridge to the city. The bridge had a symbolic wooden railing.
During all of its years, Drvenija has often gone by the name, “Gimnazijski Most”, because of the primary school, gymnasium, medresa, two high schools and several university faculties and academies nearby.