I was very excited to explore what is left of Bosnia´s most stunning abandoned narrow gauge railway, Ostbahn, and bicycle seemed like a perfect way to do it. I prepared many pictures which I planned to recreate, unfortunately went without the drone that i crashed in Travnik, but it turned out I would not have time to fly it anyways. Paired pics are here: https://tracksintime.com/ostbahn-2
After we came back from Serbia after riding the Šargan 8, the family left and I went to explore Višegrad. To be precise, its train station. If you think that Višegrad, as a historical and rather well known town, would have a lot of old buildings, narrow streets, vibe and the history would breathe from its walls (maybe like in Mostar), you will be sorely disappointed. Besides the famous Ottoman bridge, about which Andrich wrote his most famous book, The Bridge on Drina, and Andricgrad, a tourist location created by filmmaker Emir Kusturica in the 2010s, there is, rather surprisingly, nothing. Just a regular small Balkan town without much going on. Unless you are interested in railways, obviously.
Poznati osmanski most u Višegradu
Počeo sam s tunelom pored Višegradske stanice, danas korištenim za saobraćaj automobila. Stanica se nalazi odmah iza tunela, na dijelu gdje su vozovi morali malo spustiti se prema prostranom platou željezničkog dvorišta. Na vrhuncu svog značaja, stanica je imala oko 9 paralelnih kolosijeka. Danas ih ima tri (što je i dalje bolje od nule). Čim sam ušao u dvorište i vidio kako pruga završava, odmah me uhvatila neka tuga. Tu je bila podsjetnik da ovdje pruga nije završavala, nego se protezala još desetinama kilometara, sve do Sarajeva, udaljenog oko 130 km. Šine su virile iznad ceste i naglo su bile presječene, kao da je kraj bio iznenadan i privremen, upravo na ivici asfalta.
Šine završavaju naglo
Željeznička stanica Višegrad u svom zlatnom periodu (autor Doko Milovanović)
Tunel u Višegradu, danas ga koriste automobili
Ali to je bio tek početak tmurnog prizora koji je bila stanica u Višegradu. Iako je željeznica obnovljena 2010. godine i vozovi su vozili sve do Višegrada, očigledno nije bilo dovoljno novca da se obnovi stara Habsburg stanica.Stanica je ostala u svom propalom stanju, a željeznički saobraćaj pokazao se tek privremenim. Vozovi ne saobraćaju na relaciji Mokra Gora – Višegrad, bar od pandemije naovamo. Srpski mašinovođa u Mokroj Gori mi je rekao da je razlog nedostatak brige Bosne za pruge. Sam sam to vidio kada smo stali kod Dobruna — skoro polovica pragova bila je trula. Cijelo područje stanice bilo je napušteno, urušeno, sa zahrđalim šinama. Biti tamo u sumrak nije puno pomoglo, a ja sam osjećao duboku tugu zbog stanja svega toga. Ovo je bila slavna građevina u svojoj zlatnoj eri, zadivljujući primjer arhitekture, a kasnije i važan saobraćajni čvor, gdje su parkirani deseci vagona. Jedna od najvažnijih stanica na putu za Belgrade. A sada — samo praznina. Malo me iznenadilo, jer sam mislio da je stanje bolje nakon što je željeznica obnovljena prije 15 godina.
Pragovi u lošem stanju (Odsjek oko Dobruna imao je pragove potpuno trule)
Željeznička stanica Višegrad
Jedini voz u Višegradu ovih dana
Jutarnja stanica, samo malo manje tužna
Tunel u Višegradu
I came back to take some pics the next morning before heading south to photograph Kula, the medieval tower above Drina, under which trains were running right before they entered the town. The whole section of the M5 road between Višegrad and Ustiprača was ahead, and although it offered nothing to a railway enthusiast as the whole portion of Ostbahn ended up flooded here, it had the stunning nature of Drina. And also some 27 poorly lit tunnels with cars driving fast by me. It could be an absolutely stunning cycling path if they build a bike path above Drina. Like this, it was rather dangerous, and a bloated dog corpse on the side of the road reminded me of that. The railway was finding its way through a stunning rocky canyon here all the way to Ustiprača before it left Drina, the first river it followed, and tagged along Prača. There was a branch going to Priboj, separating right where the famous Drina bridge was (well, famous from the railway perspective) with its iconic two tunnel mouths right behind the bridge, today completely flooded (I plan to dive there one day). The cycling was nice, flat, railway-uneventful and full of fear of being run over by a truck in a tunnel.
Kula, Pruga je prolazila direktno ispod ove srednjovjekovne kule.
Oštar podsjetnik da se čuvate kamiona
Prekrasna dolina Drine. Željeznica je prolazila dnom doline, danas je potpuno poplavljena.
This is where the famous Drina bridge was located and branch to Priboj went right into the valley on the right.
Most na Drini bio je odmah iza.
Bio sam relativno zadovoljan kada sam stigao u Ustipraču, gdje sam popio kafu, pivo i vodu, sve za manje od tri eura. Niske cijene odgovarale su izgledu sela: siromašno, prazno, depresivno. Željeznička stanica je nestala, nema nikakvih ostataka — samo dječje igralište s otpadom, raspadnutim automobilima i napuštenim psima. Oštra opomena da mnogi ljudi u ovoj zemlji, nažalost, ne žive baš dobro. Pitao sam lokalce za staru željezničku stanicu, ali odgovori su bili mješoviti. Ipak, lijepi željeznički most gdje je počinjala grana prema Foči / Miljevini i dalje stoji.
Ustriprača. Not many nice things beside lovely nature around I could say about this settlement so I will not say anything.
Most s granom prema Foči/Miljevini
Odmah nakon Ustiprače sam vozio biciklom duž nekadašnje pruge, prolazeći pored nekoliko kameno nasutih nasipa, stalno penjajući se prema Rogatici. Stao sam da se okupam ispod male vodopadne kaskade, smještene romantično tik pored minskog polja, prateći kratku stazu uz znakove sa crtežima skeleta. Minesko polje se također pojavilo u mojoj aplikaciji BiH Minefields Map, tako da sam bar znao da aplikacija funkcioniše. Ostbahn se ubrzo odvojila od ceste, i ja sam vozio biciklom zasebnom stazom kroz dolinu, dobivajući osjećaj onoga što me očekuje sljedećeg dana. Staza me vodila preko malog čeličnog mosta i ubrzo se približila cesti. Stigao sam kod Grefovog mosta, relativno velikog čeličnog mosta, sačuvanog do danas, ali potpuno zaraslog. Nije bilo sreće sa fotografijama tamo.
Pruga se nalazila s desne strane
Prelijepa priroda je bila veliki dio Ostbahna
Željeznica je ovdje prolazila ispod vode.
Vodopad je bio divan, minsko polje nije toliko.
Nakon što se cesta napusti na nekoliko kilometara, ostaci željeznice postali su izrazitiji.
Stari most još uvijek stoji
Prvi tunel mi je dao okus onoga što će uslijediti narednog dana u kanjonu Prače.
Stari pragovi su još uvijek vidljivi na nekim mjestima.
Grefov most (most) (bridge)
And that was it for the day – now I just had to cycle 4 kilometres uphill to a hut which I found on Booking, and lone accommodation in the area. Luckily, the owner met me with a car, loaded me and my bike and took me to the cabin. Vikendica (hut or cabin in Bosnian) was small but fully equipped, with a terrace with views, and elderly couple, a ruin of a house and flock of sheep as neighbors. But rather than just sipping beer, I wanted to see what is left of Borač, a castle and township on rocks above the Prača river, and once a seat of aristocracy that controlled vast lands around. I followed a bull walking the path followed by two barking dogs and soon met a guy who started chasing the bull back, explaining to me that one reckless neighbor lets two bulls roam the village, eat their crops and make a mess. He spoke English well and offered to take me to Borač the next morning, as the sun was setting. I planned to start cycling at 7 AM, so I thanked him and started jogging towards Borač. The unpaved road turned into a path and then disappeared. Borač was on a rocky hill, steep, covered by trees and steep cliffs down to Prača on all sides. Right below, trains used to run. I did manage to find a few walls after scrambling around and eventually headed back at dusk, almost getting lost. I decided to pay a visit to the friendly guy who introduced me to his grandmother and offered me a beer. He showed me how they are making rakija. We had a brief unpleasant conversation about the history in the 1990s, as he was arguing that not everything is black and white and the west paints the Serbs as evil. I was reluctant to discuss this. He eventually shared that both his father and uncle died during the war in a forest just one kilometer away from us, as the front line ran near Varošiště. That made me realize just how awful and recent history this beautiful country has.
Na putu do Borača. Početak kanjona Prača je dolje.
Bik i psi.
Nema puno toga za vidjeti u Boraču.
He did manage to calm me down a bit – next morning, some 21 kilometers through the abandoned valley of Prača canyon awaited me. Besides regular nervousness coming with cycling through a dead valley with no signal and 23 unlit tunnels, I was mainly scared of bears. The idea of meeting a bear in the forgotten valley was frightening. No signal, no people, no help. And no light in the tunnels, with the longest one being some 400 metres. Could an abandoned railway tunnel be a good place for a bear to shelter? But the guy told me there were no sightings of bears in the area in the last 4 years, so I slept well and in the rather cool morning entered the foggy Prača canyon in Mesici, at 7 AM, where workers were harvesting wood and no traces of the train station could be found. The valley is deeply cut and riding through in a train must have been astonishing. Today, there is just the path, steep cliffs, 23 tunnels and greenery. And luckily no wildlife. Still, I ended up shouting in every tunnel to warn any animal that I was coming, for both of us not to be surprised. Both bridges over Prača near Mesici are long gone.
Woodworks in Mesići, station was nearby
Kanjon Prača. Bez medvjeda (hvala Bogu).
Ova betonska stvar se nekoliko puta pojavila u blizini željezničkih mostova, vidio sam jednu i u Zenici. Moguće za neku zaštitu.
Tuneli, tuneli, tuneli.
The last river crossing, close to Hrenovica, used to have a remaining bridge which was used by cars. Back then, the Prača valley was occasionally used to drive through, marked as M5 road. Those days are, however, over since 2017, when the bridge collapsed under an overloaded truck. So I was not exactly sure what I was getting myself into, and hoped that in the worst case I will cross through the river barefoot. The idea of cycling the whole canyon back did not seem appealing. I rode quickly through the canyon. Tunnels were so frequent I did not even turn off the headlamp. The longest one felt like an eternity. I did miss one station, but arrived at Banja Stijena, not finding anything. Not even one wall. Just an overgrown pile of rubble and stone wall at the opposite.
Banja Stijena, neobično mjesto jer nije služilo nijednom stvarnom naselju (svrha je vjerovatno bila da vlakovi mogu da se mimoilaze), je potpuno nestala. Nije čak bila vidljiva ni gomila ruševina..
Banja Stijena (ili bilo koja druga stanica u kanjonu Prače, zapravo) imala je vrlo malo smisla. Nema naselja, nema industrije, ništa. Samo dva paralelna kolosijeka i zgrada stanice s nekim osvježenjem. Vjerujem da je svrha bila da postoji mjesto gdje se vlakovi iz suprotnih smjerova mogu mimoilaziti, a ne da služi onih nekoliko kuća visoko iznad kanjona. Nakon Banje Stijene, uskoro sam stigao do srušenog mosta i pokušao preskočiti kamenje, na kraju natapajući obe cipele u rijeci. Ali ubrzo nakon prelaska, izašao sam iz kanjona nakon oko 21 kilometra. Baš u trenutku kada sam izvezao bicikl iz kanjona, sunce je probijalo kroz oblake, a nasip Ostbahna na kojem sam vozio prekrio se zlatnim sunčevim zrakama kasnog ljeta. Bilo je veoma simbolično: izlazak iz tmurnog, maglovitog kanjona i povratak u civilizaciju. Kanjon je još uvijek bio prekriven maglom, ali ja sam vozio prema zapadu, prema Hrenovici.
Most je nestao. Zahvaljujući jednom srpskom kamiondžiji.
U trenutku kada sam napustio kanjon, pojavilo se sunce. Bilo je izuzetno simbolično jer sam se upravo spremao da uđem u civilizaciju nakon 25 km kanjona bez signala.
Ah da, još jedan tunel.
Sljedeća stanica bila je Prača. Čudno je da izgleda nije postojala stanica u Hrenovici. Moram to dodatno istražiti, ali moja svekrva mi je rekla da kada su išli u posjetu njenoj tetki, morali su sići s voza u Prači i pješačiti oko 10 kilometara do Hrenovice, što zvuči čudno – u kanjonu Prače su postojale stanice koje praktično nisu služile nikome, pa zašto ovdje ne bi bila jedna? Zgrada željezničke stanice u Prači još stoji, nasuprot napuštenoj benzinskoj pumpi. Potpuno je prekrivena drvećem i propada. Nastavljajući kroz dolinu, stao sam pored starog viadukta, odnosno zidova koji su ostali, i bio sam intenzivno promatran od strane lokalne žene koja živi u kući ispod. Na vrhu se ukazao neobičan prizor: služio je kao parking za olupine automobila, koje bi na zapadu bile cijenjeni veterani. Nastavljajući dalje, s lijeve strane pojavile su se prostrane drvne industrije Podgraba. Pruga je prolazila upravo iznad područja originalne šumarske kompanije Feltrinelli & Co, koja i danas djelomično funkcioniše. Ne treba ni spominjati da je ogromna mreža šumskih željeznica odavno nestala.
Pruga je dolazila s lijeve strane
Još jedan ovakav
Stari načini gradnje vidljivi.
Prača. Prača. Željeznica je išla tačno tamo gdje je sada put, a željeznička stanica se nalazi s desne strane, skrivena među drvećem.
Željeznička stanica Prača
Drvo se i dalje obrađuje tamo gdje je bila velika kompanija Feltrinelli u Podgrabu, ali u znatno manjem obimu.
Viadukt u Podgrabu sa starim automobilima na vrhu
“The best grapes of my life” I thought, as I was feeding myself some sugar from Podgrab convenience store before cycling up to the highest point, Stambolčić pass. There were some other points of interest along the way: more walls of abandoned viaduct in Rakite, preserved and inhabited train station in Sjetlina with still existing railway shack I saw on old pictures, located high above the road, and final tunnel under Stambolčić where the railway joined the road again after climbing up the hill with loops in the forest nearby. The entrance to this tunnel served as a shooting range. Stambolčić station itself was also in a good shape. The entrance to Stambolčić tunnel, the longest one on the whole Ostbahn, was covered in garbage.
Sjetlinajetlina
Rakite
Stanica Stambolčić station
Both Stambolčić tunnels. There was no road in the past, only railway, road was added much later. Previous paths went through other ways.
Nakon što sam prošao kroz tunel, nagrada je bio dug spust sve do Pala. Snimio sam nekoliko fotografija željezničke stanice Pale i shvatio koliko bolje ta naselja izgledaju što se bližim Sarajevu. Pale je izgledalo pristojno, održavano, čak s ponekom novom gradnjom. Moglo se osjetiti prisutnost novca. U poređenju, recimo, s Ustipračom, razlika je bila očita. Najljepša iznenađenja tek su me čekala: renoviranje cijelog dijela Bistrik – Pale u modernu biciklističku stazu i pažljivo obnovljena stanica Bistrik, moram priznati u visokom standardu, vraćajući nekadašnju Habsburšku ljepotu i slavu. Uživao sam u grickanju odmah pored znaka koji zabranjuje ulaz na još u izgradnji stazu i vozio se uz treću i posljednju rijeku Ostbahn, Miljacku. Bilo je nekoliko mjesta gdje su radovi bili u toku: ojačavanje zidova, postavljanje svjetala u tunelima, završavanje gornjeg sloja zdrobljenog makadama. Radnici se nisu obazirali što ja već vozim bicikl po tom dijelu. Mostovi su obnovljeni i ofarbani u jarko zelenu, gotovo svuda je dodana ograda, iako je djelovala suvišno, a tuneli su dobro osvijetljeni. Nisam se žalio što nisam mogao vidjeti ovaj dio prije početka radova – znao sam da je atmosfera vjerojatno slična onoj u kanjonu Prače i bio sam samo sretan što se radovi odvijaju. Razgovarao sam s jednim radnikom koji mi je rekao da, kad završe sljedeće godine, bit će iznajmljivanje električnih bicikala, kafić, lijepi odmorišni prostori itd.
Željeznička stanica Pale
Pale – željeznica je prolazila preko ove livade.
I gdje je put, pravac Sarajevo.
Kanjon Miljačka između Sarajeva i Pala.
Gradnja je u toku, ali radnici nisu marili.
Ostaci stanice Dovlići (vjerovatno)
It was a nice ending of the two day 135 kilometres cycle along the Ostbahn. Probably also better to end it on a positive note of the new bike path and a renovated Bistrik rather than the depression that Višegrad station is. Travelling to Zenica turned out to be less interesting and enjoyable than I expected. The train conductor, a grumpy guy, was giving me a hard time because of my bicycle even though I bought a separate ticket for it. The train was small and dirty to the point you could not see through the windows. It was sad to see how neglected railways in Bosnia are, as all the money for infrastructure is invested into new highways.
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