River · Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosna
Bosna is the longest river inside Bosnia and Herzegovina, the country that shares its name. It rises from a famous spring near Sarajevo and flows north until it joins the Sava at Bosanski Šamac.
Picture credit: Combi2000 (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Mhare (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Wikimedia Commons
Where is the Bosna?
The river starts here: Vrelo Bosne spring at the foot of Mount Igman near Sarajevo.
It ends in the Sava river at Bosanski Šamac.
Countries on the river: Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The story behind it
The beginning of this river is a place people visit on purpose. At Vrelo Bosne, at the foot of Mount Igman, clear water bubbles straight out of the ground into a park full of little bridges, ponds and swans, and horse carriages bring visitors from Sarajevo. From there the Bosna cuts a long green valley northwards, and the country's main road and railway follow it like a corridor. Towns such as Zenica, Zavidovići and Doboj grew up on its banks, some of them around steel works that need a lot of water. Grayling and trout live in the cooler upper stretches. After long rain the river can rise dangerously; in 2014 it flooded whole neighbourhoods. For the people here it is both a lifeline and a river to keep an eye on.
Questions children ask
How long is the Bosna?
The Bosna is about 282 kilometres long. The whole river lies inside Bosnia and Herzegovina, which makes it the longest river that belongs to the country alone.
Which countries does the Bosna flow through?
Where does the Bosna flow into?
The Bosna joins the Sava at the town of Bosanski Šamac in the north. The Sava later reaches the Danube, so this water finally arrives in the Black Sea.
Where these numbers come from
Every figure on this page was checked against public reference sources before publication. Where sources genuinely disagree, the text says so.
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