Raftsmen of the Drava River

Until the 18th century Maribor lagged behind other European cities since only leather trade and milling industry were developing. However, it held a very special gem, namely the Drava river, which revived the city.

Already in the Roman times, the Drava river was an important source of livelihood as well as an important transport route, mainly due to the city Poetovio (Ptuj) which was a Roman military base with its own river fleet.

The beginnings of rafting, which was one of the main activities in Maribor and provided a source of income for the vibrant inns and taverns, can be traced back into the distant past. It also supported the timber industry giving rise to a number of timber warehouses along the Drava river. Namely, the European rivers where rafting had developed were flowing through lands rich in timber. Indeed, the Drava river flows through a magnificent timber-rich valley.

The oldest testimony about rafting on the Drava river dates back to 1280 and is recorded in a document of Otto Velikovški decreeing the collection of toll on barrel transport at the Velikovški bridge. The decree states that the empty barrels were transported on rafts to Maribor where they were filled with wine and transported back to Carinthia using carts. There is also a record from 1289, found in the land register of the St. Paul’s monastery which mentions serfs bringing timber to Styria, where the monastery used it in its vineyards. The land register of Sv. Lovrenc na Pohorju from 1371 states that the residents were involved in the transport of various types of timber with sticks for vineyards being of particular importance.

The river transport of timber was already well developed in the Middle Ages. In the 16th century extensive trade between Villach and Ptuj existed on the Drava river. Rafts were mainly used for transporting wine, ironmongery and textiles.

Due to increased transport on the Drava river, especially transport of timber, there was a growing need for larger and sturdier vessels, and thus in the 16th century the era of “šajka” rafting begun. They sailed all the way from Vuzenica to Vojvodina in the modern-day Serbia. The provincial estates appointed Vuzenica as a construction and military port for šajka vessels and it was known as a location where quality šajka vessels were built. The reputation of šajkas reached beyond borders. In 1541, they had presumably built 40 šajka vessels for the purpose of transportation of food to the imperial army in the Hungary. 

ŠAJKA VESSEL

Šajka was a vessel of a sturdy construction approximately 20 meters long and 6 meters wide. It was steered with tarpaulin sails by 6 rafters and could transport about 40 to 60 cubic meters of timber boards. The building of šajka vessels was more demanding and lasted longer than building ordinary rafts and it was also more expensive as it required greater quantities of wood. The wood used in the construction of a šajka, i.e. the basic vessel's hull was sold, while they also used it for transporting fruit, tannin and quartz sand for the Pohorje glass huts. 

The šajka was later replaced by a raft since a new method of tying the rafts enabled quicker loading and transportation of greater volumes of timber which of course lowered the final selling price of the timber. 

RAFT

The smallest raft could carry around 80 cubic meters of wood and the largest one as much as 130. The Drava raft had a trapezoid shape, it was 32 meters long and 6 meters wide in the front and 5 meters in the rear. Each raft had 3 front and 3 rear paddles, therefore it took 6 rafters to steer it. In the beginning of the 20th century, Italian rafters came to the Dravska dolina valley and introduced a different method for tying the rafts, making them wider in the front and narrower in the rear. The Drava rafters called those rafts “Italijančki” (i.e. Italians). 

The rafting reached its peak in the 19th century, mainly because it was very economical. A raft was an effective means of transport as well as the cargo itself thus the shipment reached its destination without any extra costs. The lumber industry was highly developed in the Pohorje and Kobansko regions, since both were rich with timber which was mainly used as a construction material. After 1918, the timber market expanded to Croatia and Serbia. At that time, more than 500 rafters were operating on the Drava river and they were building rafts in 60 ports between Libeliče and Maribor. Presumably more than 2000 people were involved in the rafting business since it was well paid and therefore very alluring. The tradition of rafting was very strong since it was passed down from generation to generation. Because rafting was a seasonal activity, the rafters took up small farming or logging during low rafting season.

MARIBOR AND RAFTING

Presumably, each year more than than 2000 rafters sailed down the Drava river transporting more than 200,000 cubic meters of wood. For the rafters, Maribor was the first stop. The port where rafts were landing in Maribor has kept its name Lent (Port) to this day. Maribor was a busy intersection and the passage from Dravska dolina valley to Maribor was considered to be the most difficult and dangerous one. Until the 20th century, the Drava driver was a torrential river, full of rapids, shoals, and rocky straits. The rafters arriving in Maribor were joined by the local rafters, i.e. they were mostly coming from Duplek. Here they would get some food and spend the night at the famous Dabringer tavern. The landing of the rafts was quite a spectacular event and the rafters’ profession acquired romantic connotations among the locals. 

From Lent to Dubrova six rafters were riding on a raft, but further downstream from Dubrova only four remained since the river was calmer while the unloading was done with the help of the locals. Further downstream from Donja Dubrova the Drava river became a bordering river between Hungary and the then Yugoslavia which meant they had to take care of customs formalities. The raft was sealed and customs had to be paid and rafts were prohibited to stay there.

The construction of hydroelectric power plants meant the end of rafting. The construction of the Fala power plant in 1941 was the first blow, but after the end of the World War II a series of power plants was constructed along the Drava river which made rafting impossible. To honour the rafting tradition, a traditional Rafters’ christening event is held in Maribor every year. 

RAFTERS – THE VOYAGERS OF THEIR TIME

Rafters were considered to be very knowledgeable because the nature of their work enabled them to visit new places and see different ways of life. The rafters weren’t very pious but they had their own patron nonetheless. It was St. Nicholas they prayed to. Hence, numerous churches along the Drava river are dedicated to St. Nicholas. The rafters changed the economic and cultural conditions in Dravska dolina valley by being members of a very rare group of people, who were able to introduce the experiences they acquired in neighbouring places and countries into their home villages. In the past it was not common for regular people to travel, but rafters were able to get to know different towns, i.e. Maribor, Ptuj, Ormož, Osijek, Sremska Mitrovica, Belgrade, Novi Sad etc. They were socializing with local inhabitants, bought different local items, tested local foods and got acquainted with local habits, dialects, garbs and newspapers. There were many stories about rafters that were passed down from generation to generation. Many legends and tales were born about rafters meeting various water creatures. 

A mandatory piece of clothing for rafters was a hat called Falotenhut (i.e. a knave’s hat) which underlined their adventurous and free-minded spirit. They distinguished themselves from the other workers in the ports by carrying an axe, a tail hook and a rafting rope. 

Each trip usually lasted a few days. Each rafter brought three shirts, a blanket and a raincoat, personal hygiene supplies, a razor, shaving brush, soap and a towel. They also brought some food supplies in the form of smoked meat, sausages, flour and bread. The meals were prepared in a clay fire pit on the raft and they used water from Drava river which was clean enough to drink until 1941. The rafters used to bathe and shave only in the river.

THE STORY OF DRAVA RIVER

Once upon a time our grandfathers didn't know about wheat and rye. But there in Carinthia a rich fisherman lived by the Drava river. He fished tirelessly from morning till dusk.

And one day he asked the Drava river: “Mother Drava, how can ever repay you for all that you've given me?”

And the river answered: “Go into the world. In faraway lands you shall come across people who knead wheat and rye bread. Bring a loaf of each.”

And on his way he went. He travelled for a long time till he finally reached splendorous and abundant lands. There the people ate bread that the fisherman never tasted before. So he bought a loaf of wheat and rye breads just as Drava had instructed him. Upon returning to Carinthia he threw boath loaves into the river. Suddenly Drava started to rise. It flooded over both banks. But once the water receded, rye and wheat sprouted. And this is how our ancestors came into possession of rye and whaet seeds and started sowing them. 

Saša Pergar (adaptation and revision): Pravljica o Dravi (The Story of Drava River) (2005), taken from the book Mariborske vedute (Maribor Cityscapes)

GESTRIN THE WATER SPRITE

In certain parts, the Drava river ate its way into the very slopes of Pohorje. And when it broke a tooth on a crag too hard it had to meander away, and make a sharp turn. At such hairpin bends the raging waters froth and roar and devours in fathomless vortexes everything brought and whirled by the waves.

Occasionally a dishevelled head of the Gestrin water sprite would loom amidst the water vortex. Beard and hair fall down to his waist; fish-like grey eyes gaze sorrowfully through the bushy hair. Sometimes he would paddle to the crag on the shore and bask in the sun. But his feet would never leave the water. But he couldn't even he wanted them to since instead of feet he has a pair of flippers as big as oven-peels.

And where Gestrin appears water fairies would circle nearby. Like swans they would glide around their master with golden hair tresses running down their snow-white necks to their snowy shoulders and breasts. But woe to those whom the sweet smiles and gentle gazes of the water fairies lure into the water. They would embrace him and bring him to the bottom of the pond where they reside together with Gestrin in a castle made of glass. 

The water fairies adore sparkling jewellery. Gestrin tries to win their hearts by bringing them shiny rings, earrings and similar ornaments. This is a thing well known to the ferrymen who transport timber and stones from Pohorje as well as fruits and other produce on their rafts and šajkas along the Drava river.

If Gestrin lifts his head from the vortex where the dangerous river turns lie, the šajka rafter doesn't think twice. Swiftly he removes a ring from this hand, ties it into a handkerchief and throws it into the whirlpool. Gestrin then smirks complacently, jumps after the handkerchief, while the šajka rafter passes whirlpool without a harm. 

And so it was that one time the ferryman didn’t have a ring on him when the watersprite appeared. But he had a bright idea. From his ear he pulled out a negro's head earring, tied him into his handkerchief and he flung it to the hairy beast. This way he escaped the danger unharmed.

But some ferrymen weren't as lucky when they came across Gestrin or the water fairies. Many suffered the same fate as Anže who once paddled his raft in this part of Drava. It was a beautiful sunny day. Anže whistled merrily without a care in the world with his left hand resting on the rudder. A golden ring was shining on his finger and the sun rays reflected from the ring and danced before his eyes. It was only last Sunday when his neighbour Mojca gave him this ring that she brought back as a gift from pilgrimage to Uršlja gora. O how bright the stone shone on the ring! Nothing would make him remove it from his finger! 

Deeply immersed in his happiness, he didn't even notice how the stream at the bend was bringing him closer to the whirlpool. A splash is heard in front of him and the hairy head of Gestrin suddenly looms from the vortex. Right by the raft white hands were reaching for Anže; the water fairies are beckoning, pleading...

“What do you want from me, you tempting temptresses,” the infatuated lumberjack snubbed them. “It's my ring you want, isn't it? Nay, this you will not get!”

But Gestrin already took hold of his raft and pulled it towards him. The waters swirled and burbled and the vortex swallowed the raft with all the cargo. 

Anže leapt into the waves just before that. But the water fairies tried to snatch his ring, clutching his hand and pulling him into the depths. The ferryman and his raft disappeared without a trace, never to be heard of again. –

Another ferryman, a well-known prankster, escaped the same fate only by a hair's breadth. With his šajka he paddled along the Drava river, and just before he sailed off he filled his pockets with pebbles. 

“Just you wait, you slimy hairy Gestrin,” smirked the prankster, “I’ll pull a fast one on you like no one’s ever done it before!”

And so the ferryman passed the first vortex – and nothing happened! He passed the second whirlpool – again nothing! However, when his šajka reached the third bend – there he saw Gestrin rocking in the middle of the whirpool! Around him the water fairies were dancing splashing the water with their white hands. Mesmerised by the seducing creatures, he would keep on watching them if it weren't for the thick-headed hairy beast!

The ferryman reached into his pocket and tied the pebbles into the handkerchief. He made three big knots and flung the wad right in front of the hairy creature. Gestrin sank into the vortex and the water fairies followed him into the depths.

The pranking ferryman swiftly navigated to the middle of Drava and the stream quickly took him downstream. But before šajka reached the second bend, the murky waves came a rumbling, roaring and thundering, as though a cloud burst open over Pohorje and all the torrents gushed forth into Drava. The prankster put all his weight to the stern and with utmost difficulty paddled to the bank. With his last strength he reached for the willow branch and pulled himself to safety. Šajka was seized by the raging waves which overturned it and it disappeared forever.

This is how Gestring took revenge on the ferryman for his prank.

Josip Brinar: Pohorske bajke in povesti (Tales and Stories from Pohorje) (1933: 52-55)