Rafting on the Drava

Wherever there are steep banks along the Drava, "lenti" or docks for loading and unloading were created in the age of rafting. The foreign word "lent" is derived from the German verb lenden–landen, which means to land. This alien has been preserved to this day. Even the beautiful Slovenian words splav - splavar have not yet been able to completely eliminate the foreign word flos - flosar.

The Drava power plants of today have put an end to the former glory of rafting. However, it's interesting that the old Yugoslav title of "helmsman" still exists, which referred to the captain of the rafters who had a deep understanding of water currents and steered the raft safely. The word for helmsman in Slovenian is Korman, and it's still a common family name in the Pohorje region. In the homes of former helmsmen, many interesting items are preserved from their journeys along the Drava and Danube rivers. With the advent of railways, rafting was gradually replaced as timber transport by rail was faster and cheaper.

When rafters had to spend the night in unfamiliar places after a long day, they would land the raft and secure it in the harbor. Each raft was accompanied by at least one oar boat, which the rafters made at home for the Slavonian wood markets.

Remnants of the rafting era can be seen along the Obdrava road, such as the large houses that used to be inns for rafters and cartage transportation. There are several such houses on the left bank of the Drava. On the right bank near Ruše, there is only the house "Pri Pavlu," which belonged to the father of one of the largest timber entrepreneurs in Ruše, Viktor Glazer.