Sights of Sarajevo

I’m back catching up on the last of our European travels through the Balkans! Thanks for all the love on my last post about what it’s like to date a Raptors fan. It was fun jumping into present day on the blog, but I’ve only got a few posts left from our trip! Thanks for reading along and following our journey 🙂

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Sarajevo, Bosnia & Herzegovina

Sarajevo is a city with an incredibly devastating history. During the Balkan Wars in the early 1990’s, the city was held under siege for 1425 days (almost four years) and close to 14,000 people were killed. The damage to the buildings and the people during that time was horrific and still present in various forms to this day, nearly 25 years later. Mac and I spent a full week in Sarajevo and tried our best to learn as much as we could about its recent history while also seeking out unique and entertaining things to fill our days.

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Historical Museum of Bosnia and Herzegovina

Sarajevo Under Siege

One of our first stops in Sarajevo was the Historical Museum. This museum has been open for 70 years and currently has a few permanent exhibits that did a really great job educating Mac and I about the recent history of Sarajevo. “Sarajevo Under Siege” is a gallery that has several rooms filled with objects and memorabilia from the war. We learned about the daily life of residents and the resourcefulness needed during those difficult times.

This gallery also had several information boards with newspaper clippings from the days leading up to the start of the Siege. At that time, there were three main ethnic groups in Bosnia & Herzegovnia: Serbs, Croats, and Bosniaks. In April 1992, Bosnia and Herzegovina held a referendum to separate from Yugoslavia. After the passing of this referendum (mostly favoured by the Croats and Bosniaks – with a 64% turnout and 99% vote for independence), the Serbs surrounded the city and proceeded to assault the downtown core and nearby areas with tanks, artillery, mortars, shells, and snipers.

15 Years by Jim Marshall

Another small permanent gallery in the museum featured “Before and After” pictures taken in 1996 and later in 2011. The contrast is quite striking, and it was fascinating to see the difference and transformation that the city has gone through in the last 25 years.

I don’t remember learning much about this war in school (and was too young to understand what was happening when the war was taking place), but I’m thankful to have made the visit to the Historical Museum to right that wrong.

Opening Hours: 9am – 7pm every day

Cost of Admission: 5KM (~€2.50, $3.80CAD)

War Childhood Museum

The second stop on our journey to learn more about the war was the War Childhood Museum. This museum focuses on childhoods that have been affected by war, and is the only one like it in the world. There are roughly 50 items on display, all donated by those who were children during the Sarajevo Siege. These items vary from stuffed animals to clothing to food items and all are accompanied by a brief description and story about the role these items played during the war.

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I also grew up in the ‘90s and it was so humbling to compare my care-free childhood against what I saw in this museum. Children attending make-shift school in a hallway of an apartment building because the regular school had been destroyed by shelling. Being forced to spend numerous daylight hours indoors, away from the windows, often in the basement for fear of a mortar attack. Relying on sub-par food from humanitarian aid, and frequently going hungry when supplies and/or fuel ran out. Like I said, humbling.

The War Childhood Museum has expanded since its opening in January 2017 and now operates out of Lebanon, Ukraine, and the United States. It’s also received numerous awards and recognitions world-wide for how it “is able to tackle trauma at an individual level for both participants, whose personal stories and objects comprise the museum’s collection, and visitors – ultimately contributing to greater understanding for society on whole.” (WCM website)

Opening Hours: Monday to Sunday: 11:00am – 7:00pm (July and August: 10:00am – 8:00pm)

Cost of Admission: 10KM (~€5, $7.70CAD)

River Miljacka

As is the case with most European cities, Sarajevo is built on either side of a river. The Miljacka River splits the city in two with the downtown core/Old Town and shopping district to the north and the more residential areas to the south.

One of the most prominent river-side buildings is Sarajevo City Hall (Vijećnica). The building was completed in 1894 and was used as the University and National Library of Bosnia and Herzegovina. In 1992 the building (and most of its contents) was almost completely destroyed by Serbian shelling. Rare and practically ancient books were lost forever and those that tried to save books were shot by snipers. The building lay in ruins for several years until grants and donations came through to help rebuilt it. Completed in 2014 the impressive building is now a prominent feature of the waterfront and one of the most impressive buildings in Sarajevo.

The river of course is dotted with numerous bridges along its length. One of the most notable of these is the Latin Bridge. It was here where Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria was assassinated in 1914 – an event which led to the start of World War I.

Downtown Core & Baščaršija

It’s easy to spend an entire afternoon just strolling the pedestrian-only streets of the downtown core. There are so many shops, bakeries, cafes, and restaurants to look at, and the people watching is fun too.

The Baščaršija was the site of the old bazaar in Sarajevo and today acts as the main cultural center of the city. There is a large fountain in the center of this open space which featured more pigeons than water when we were there!

The old town is where you can really see the combination of all the different ethnic groups that populate the city. There are mosque minarets, domed roofs of the Orthodox cathedrals, and crosses on steeples located side-by-side in nearly every corner of the city. It’s a true meeting of cultures and it was wonderful to see that the racial tensions of the war have not penetrated into current day.

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Avaz Twist Tower

On the west side of the city an eye-catching glass tower dominates the skyline. The Avaz Twist Tower was completed in 2008 and stands 176m tall. It joins the league of a few other twist towers found all over the world (the Absolut Towers in Mississauga are a notable Canadian feature). Our AirBnb was located a short (& hilly) walk away from the tower, so one afternoon we decided to venture inside and were delighted to learn that there is an observation deck near the very top of the tower.

For a small fee (2KM) we were able to walk onto the balcony and get sweeping views not only of the city but the surrounding mountains as well. I’m a sucker for views, so you can bet that I really enjoyed our time up at the top of this tower.

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Posno & Krompiruša

Because a large portion of the population is Orthodox, the city of Sarajevo recognizes the season of Lent (the 40 days before Easter). In the Orthodox religion, many people participate in the Great Fast for Lent. This involves giving up all forms of meat, poultry, dairy, and eggs; essentially practicing a vegan diet. This was great news for a vegan traveller in an otherwise meat-heavy country! We first encountered this in Belgrade, Serbia and quickly learned that the word for Lent in Serbian is posno. Having this in our back pockets meant that we could go into any grocery store, bakery, market, or restaurant and simply say “posno?” and be given a variety of options of things we could eat.

We really took advantage of this in Sarajevo after learning that one of the main treats or street food offerings was posno. Krompiruša is a potato-filled pita, often make in a spiral shape, and always greasy and delicious. We even went on a self-guided krompiruša tour! We checked out 3 different buregdzinicas, or sandwich shops during our week in Sarajevo and certainly had our fill of this tasty pastry! Most bakeries use butter or lard in their baked goods, so it was a nice change for me to go into one knowing there’d be something vegan-friendly for me!

If you’re keen to go on your own krompiruša tour, these were the three places we visited (based on suggestions from The Minimalist Ninja blog)

– Buregdzinica Bosna and Sač – both located in the city center

– Pekara AS “5” – located on the west side of the city

– Pita Ispod Sača – supposedly has vegan pumpkin pita, but was closed when we went to visit

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I’m so glad Mac and I spent a full week in Sarajevo. The weather was not on our side (it rained 5 of 7 days) but we tried to make the most of it and opt for indoor activities when we could. When the sun was shining, we were out wandering around the town and learning all that we could about this interesting city. From its troubled past to its current thriving and vibrant present, Sarajevo has certainly undergone a transformation. I loved that there was always something new for us to see and learn around every corner. I’d definitely return to this city in the future and would highly recommend it to anyone that finds themselves in the Balkans.

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Tell me, have you ever been to Sarajevo? What do you remember from the Sarajevo Siege?

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