Kućica na Drini (Drina River House)
Wooden cabin on a rock in the Drina River · Bajina Bašta, Serbia
Photo: Rasevic / Wikimedia Commons, dated 2 January 2017 (CC BY-SA 4.0), resized. The same photo is used in the Street Art Utopia post.
Kućica na Drini, the Drina River House, is a small wooden cabin on a rock in the Drina River at Bajina Bašta in western Serbia. RTS, 23 Apr 2014 · Bajina Bašta municipality · OpenStreetMap Checked The river has carried it away again and again, and each time local people have built a new one. Tourist Organisation Tara-Drina · RTS, 23 Apr 2014 Checked
4 things to know
- Built by teenage boysKurir says the first cabin was put up in 1968 by several fourteen-year-old boys from Bajina Bašta. Amusing Planet wrote in 2013 that they wanted a place to sunbathe and brought boards from a nearby ruined shed. Kurir, 22 Jan 2023 · Amusing Planet, 28 Feb 2013 · Telegraf, 29 Jan 2023 Reported
- The river keeps taking itThe local tourist organisation says the untamed Drina has, from time to time, carried the cabin away, and Bajina Bašta enthusiasts always quickly put up a new, sturdier and more beautiful one. RTS put it this way: what the torrent takes, locals rebuild as soon as the water recedes. Tourist Organisation Tara-Drina · RTS, 23 Apr 2014 Checked
- Today’s cabin dates from 2011Telegraf writes that the earlier cabin was swept away in 2010 and replaced by the present one; Kurir dates the current version to 2011. Its owner told Telegraf that the front and back walls were raised so that floodwater can pass through. Telegraf, 29 Jan 2023 · Kurir, 22 Jan 2023 · Wikipedia: Drina river house Reported
- Made famous by a photographA picture of the cabin was National Geographic’s photo of the month in August 2012, and the British Daily Mail wrote about it on 9 March 2013, according to the local tourist organisation. RTS also mentions the National Geographic photo. Tourist Organisation Tara-Drina · RTS, 23 Apr 2014 Checked
Where it is
- 📍
- On a rock in the Drina River at Bajina Bašta, near Milenka Topalovića street in the Višesava area; OpenStreetMap maps the cabin at 43.98433, 19.56661. OpenStreetMap Checked
- 🧭
- About 2 km upstream from the centre of Bajina Bašta. Wikipedia: Drina river house Reported
- 👀
- The cabin stands in the open river and is seen from the bank. Our photo was taken from the hillside above the river. Rasevic / Wikimedia Commons, 2 Jan 2017 Checked
Sightings
- 1968
First cabin on the rock, RTS
- 2010
Cabin swept away, Telegraf
- 20172 Jan
Photo, Wikimedia Commons
- 202224 May
Photo, Wikimedia Commons
- 202219 Oct
Photo, Wikimedia Commons
- 202218 Dec
Withstood a flood wave, Kurir
- 202322 Jan
Came through the flood, Kurir
- 20258 Jun
Photo, Wikimedia Commons
- 202616 Apr
Photo, Wikimedia Commons
Every stamp links to its source. The green stamps are dated photographs of the cabin standing on its rock, all on Wikimedia Commons, with camera dates or the dates given on Commons: 2 January 2017 (our photo), 24 May 2022, 19 October 2022, 8 June 2025 and 16 April 2026, the newest we found. The amber stamps are reports: RTS on the first cabin of 1968, and Kurir on the cabin coming through floods in December 2022 and January 2023. The red stamp marks the flood of 2010 that, according to Telegraf, swept away the earlier cabin; the present one replaced it.
On the record
Bajina Bašta – između Drine i Tare
In English: Bajina Bašta, between the Drina and Tara
“Prva kućica na steni podignuta je 1968. godine i to je jedino što se pouzdano zna.”
In English: “The first cabin on the rock was put up in 1968, and that is the only thing known for certain.”
“Ali, što bujica odnese, meštani ponovo izgrade čim se voda povuče.”
In English: “But whatever the torrent takes away, the locals build again as soon as the water recedes.”
Da li je iko ušao u čuvenu kućicu na Drini kod Bajine Bašte: Mnogi su je drugačije zamišjali, evo kako izgleda unutra!
In English: Has anyone been inside the famous cabin on the Drina near Bajina Bašta? Many imagined it differently; here is what it looks like inside
“Potrudili smo se da sve bude odrađeno kvalitetno i da ovo bude poslednja verzija kućice, koju voda neće odneti.”
In English: “We made sure everything was done properly, so that this will be the last version of the cabin, one the water will not take away.” The owner, on the present cabin.
The facts
- Name
- Kućica na Drini (Кућица на Дрини), “the little house on the Drina”; in English often called the Drina River House. Tourist Organisation Tara-Drina · Bajina Bašta municipality · OpenStreetMap · Wikipedia: Drina river house Checked
- What it is
- A small wooden cabin with a porch, built on a single rock in the river. RTS, 23 Apr 2014 · Rasevic / Wikimedia Commons, 2 Jan 2017 Checked
- First built
- RTS, Kurir (January 2023), Telegraf and Amusing Planet give 1968; Kurir’s December 2022 report says the first house was built in 1969, in five days. We lean towards 1968: most sources give it, and RTS calls it the only thing known for certain. RTS, 23 Apr 2014 · Kurir, 22 Jan 2023 · Telegraf, 29 Jan 2023 · Amusing Planet, 28 Feb 2013 · Kurir, 18 Dec 2022 Conflicting
- Builders
- A group of boys from Bajina Bašta, about fourteen years old. Kurir names Milija Mandić “Gljiva” as having helped build every version; Telegraf names the present owner, Miško Savić Zuzec, as one of the founders. Kurir, 22 Jan 2023 · Telegraf, 29 Jan 2023 · Amusing Planet, 28 Feb 2013 Reported
- Swept away
- Kurir (January 2023) and Wikipedia say the river carried the cabin away seven times; Kurir’s December 2022 report says six houses were swept away and the present one is the seventh. We lean towards seven, given by two sources, one of them citing the magazine Politika (2019). Kurir, 22 Jan 2023 · Wikipedia: Drina river house · Kurir, 18 Dec 2022 Conflicting
- Present cabin
- From 2011, after the cabin was swept away in 2010. Kurir, 22 Jan 2023 · Telegraf, 29 Jan 2023 · Wikipedia: Drina river house Reported
- Inside
- Solar panels, a kitchen, a terrace, a fridge and a toilet underneath; the electricity connection was cut because it was not legal. Kurir, 22 Jan 2023 Reported
- Owner
- Miško Savić Zuzec, who took over after Milija Mandić died in 2017. Kurir says the cabin is not inherited within a family but passes to whoever looks after it. Kurir, 22 Jan 2023 Reported
- Symbol
- The municipality calls it a symbol of Bajina Bašta and one of the recognisable symbols of Serbia. Bajina Bašta municipality Checked
- Place
- Drina River, Bajina Bašta, Zlatibor District, western Serbia; 43.98433, 19.56661. OpenStreetMap Checked
- Status
- Standing. The newest dated photograph we found, camera-dated 16 April 2026, shows the cabin on its rock; so does one from 8 June 2025. Kurir reported on 22 January 2023 that it came through the latest flood with its walls and structure intact, though the rooms needed repair. Gagervgd / Wikimedia Commons, 16 Apr 2026 · Vladanikolic / Wikimedia Commons, 8 Jun 2025 · Kurir, 22 Jan 2023 Checked
- Our photo
- By Rasevic, published on Wikimedia Commons on 2 January 2017 under CC BY-SA 4.0. Rasevic / Wikimedia Commons, 2 Jan 2017 Checked
Related
- Houses in the Wrong Place (10 Photos): the Street Art Utopia collection with the Drina River House and nine other houses in unlikely places
All sources (15)
Official
- Tourist Organisation Tara-Drina: “Kućica na Drini”, updated 9 February 2024. The river carrying the cabin away from time to time and locals rebuilding it; National Geographic photo of the month, August 2012; Daily Mail article, 9 March 2013. In Serbian.
- Municipality of Bajina Bašta: “Kućica na Drini”. The cabin as a symbol of Bajina Bašta. In Serbian.
Press
- RTS: “Bajina Bašta – između Drine i Tare”, 23 April 2014. First cabin 1968; locals rebuild after floods; the wooden cabin. In Serbian.
- Kurir: “Ostala čvrsta kao stena na kojoj je sagrađena: Kućica na Drini izdržala još jedan poplavni talas!”, 18 December 2022. The cabin withstood another flood wave; gives 1969 and six earlier houses. In Serbian.
- Kurir: “Da li je iko ušao u čuvenu kućicu na Drini kod Bajine Bašte…”, 22 January 2023. Builders, 1968, seven times swept away, 2011 version, owner, survived the flood. In Serbian.
- Telegraf: “Čuvena kućica na Drini prkosi (ne)vremenu…”, 29 January 2023. Founders, 1968, cabin swept away in 2010 and replaced, raised walls. In Serbian.
- Amusing Planet: “House in the Middle of Drina River”, 28 February 2013. Built in 1968 by young boys, boards from a ruined shed.
Photos
- Wikimedia Commons: “House on river Drina 2.jpg”, by Rasevic, 2 January 2017, CC BY-SA 4.0. Our photo.
- Wikimedia Commons: “Kućica na Drini 2022 058.jpg”, by Ванилица, camera date 24 May 2022, CC BY-SA 4.0. The cabin from the hillside, with boats below.
- Wikimedia Commons: “2022 House on Drina, Serbia Laslovarga (1).jpg”, by Laslovarga, 19 October 2022, CC BY-SA 4.0. “Wooden House on Drina, Serbia October 2022”.
- Wikimedia Commons: “Drina river house.jpg”, by Vladanikolic, camera date 8 June 2025, CC0. The cabin at low water.
- Wikimedia Commons: “Kucica na Drini Bajina Basta 2026.jpg”, by Gagervgd, camera date 16 April 2026, CC BY-SA 4.0. The cabin standing, reflected in calm water.
Records
- OpenStreetMap: Кућица на Дрини (way 241912488). The cabin mapped as a building at 43.98433, 19.56661.
- Wikipedia: “Drina river house”. Distance from the town, number of times destroyed, present cabin of 2011; cites Politika (2019) and others.
Street Art Utopia
- Street Art Utopia: “Houses in the Wrong Place (10 Photos)”. The SAU post with this photo.
Artwork File · Last checked 22 October 2026 · Certainty labels follow How We Verify Art · All Artwork Files