Robert Michel, famous writer, travel writer, lover of Bosnia and Herzegovina, who considered himself a person who has two homelands, Austria and Bosnia, came to our region countless times and was always impressed by the way of life and the beauty of the people, places and nature that it hides Bosnia and Herzegovina.
In one of his travelogues “Travels to Imperial Lands” from 1912, he wrote a work as a kind of document of our cultural heritage, especially about old bridges, their characteristics and specifics, the period of construction and all those details that are important for such buildings. However, as the author himself points out, he was most captivated by the image and experience of the Old Bridge in Mostar.
Through the translated edition of Michel’s work in our language, it is an opportunity to remember the Old Bridge and our country as heaven on earth, as Michel himself conjures up on several occasions. The book itself consists of eight parts, some of which have several subtitles. Very interesting are his travels, which he recorded while driving the first car in this area at that time, and he describes in detail the drive from Mostar to Dubrovnik. But Michel records not only this trip during his stay in Bosnia, but also the trip to Sisak, Zagreb, Ljubljana, Banja Luka, Jajce, Sarajevo, as well as the trip to Herceg Novi, the boat ride to Rijeka, etc. He also describes a special joy of the inhabitants of Herzegovina, who are impatiently waiting for the rain, so compare this event with the arrival of the heir to the throne Franjo Josip I in Bosnia and Herzegovina, in Mostar, who on that occasion visited and delighted its inhabitants.
