Sarajevo
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What is Sarajevo?
Sarajevo is the capital and cultural center of Bosnia and Herzegovina, situated in the Miljacka River valley at the base of Mount Trebević. The city has a strong Muslim character, marked by numerous mosques, traditional wooden houses, and the Baščaršija, an old Turkish marketplace. Sarajevo's historical significance includes its role as the administrative seat of Bosnia and Herzegovina during both the Ottoman and Austro-Hungarian empires. It was also the site of the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand in 1914, an event that triggered World War I. Today, Sarajevo is a center of road and rail networks, known for its metalware and carpet making.
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Where is Sarajevo located?
Sarajevo is the capital and cultural center of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The city is located in the narrow valley of the Miljacka River, at the foot of Mount Trebević. Sarajevo has a strong Muslim character, with many mosques, ornate wooden houses, and the ancient Turkish marketplace, Baščaršija. The city's principal mosques are the Gazi Husreff-Bey's Mosque, or Begova Džamija (1530), and the Mosque of Ali Pasha (1560–61).
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What country is Sarajevo the capital city of?
Sarajevo is the capital and cultural center of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The city is known for its strong Muslim character, with numerous mosques and the ancient Turkish marketplace, Baščaršija. Sarajevo has a rich history, with traces of Neolithic settlements and Roman presence. It became a trading center under the Ottoman Empire and was modernized during Austro-Hungarian rule. In 1914, the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo triggered World War I. Today, Sarajevo is a center of road and rail networks with metalware and carpet-making industries.
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What is Sarajevo known for in history?
Sarajevo is known for its rich history, characterized by cultural diversity and pivotal historical events. Under the Ottoman Empire, it became a significant trading center and a stronghold of Muslim culture. In 1914, the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo triggered World War I, marking a turning point in global history. The city hosted the 1984 Winter Olympics, symbolizing a period of peace and progress. However, it later endured the Siege of Sarajevo during the Bosnian War, the longest siege in modern European history, leaving a lasting impact on the city and its people.
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What important historical event happened in Sarajevo in 1914?
In 1914, Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina, was the site of the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, by Gavrilo Princip, a Bosnian Serb nationalist, on June 28. Princip was part of the Black Hand, a Serbian secret society that wanted to unite South Slavs and end Austro-Hungarian rule in the Balkans. Austria-Hungary used the assassination as an excuse to initiate hostilities against Serbia, which triggered World War I.
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How has Sarajevo changed since the Bosnian War in the 1990s?
Sarajevo has undergone significant changes since the Bosnian War in the 1990s. The Siege of Sarajevo by Bosnian Serb forces resulted in widespread destruction and loss of life, with an estimated 11,540 people killed and nearly every building damaged. Post-war, international financial organizations played a crucial role in the reconstruction of the economy, leading to decreased inflation and increased exports. Much of the country’s infrastructure has been rebuilt thanks to projects funded by the World Bank.
Despite these efforts, Sarajevo still faces challenges, including high unemployment rates and ethnic tensions, which have delayed the internal integration of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
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Sarajevo, capital and cultural centre of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It lies in the narrow valley of the Miljacka River at the foot of Mount Trebević. The city retains a strong Muslim character, having many mosques, wooden houses with ornate interiors, and the ancient Turkish marketplace (the Baščaršija); much of the population is Muslim. The city’s principal mosques are the Gazi Husreff-Bey’s Mosque, or Begova Džamija (1530), and the Mosque of Ali Pasha (1560–61). Husreff-Bey also built the medrese (madrasah), a Muslim school of theology; the Imaret, a free kitchen for the poor; and the hamam, public baths. A late 16th-century clock tower is adjacent to the Begova Džamija. Museums include the Mlada Bosna (“Young Bosnia”), an annex of the town museum; the Museum of the Revolution, chronicling the history of Bosnia and Herzegovina since 1878; and a Jewish museum. Sarajevo has a university (1949) that includes faculties in mining and technology, an academy of sciences, an art college, and several hospitals. A number of streets named for trades survive from an original 37, and the Kazandžviluk (coppersmith’s bazaar) is preserved in its original form.
Near Sarajevo are the remains of a Neolithic settlement of the Butmir culture. The Romans established a rest centre at nearby Ilidža, where the Bosna River has its source; there is still a sulfurous spa. The Goths, followed by the Slavs, began settling in the area about the 7th century. In 1415 Sarajevo is mentioned as Vrhbosna, and, after the Turks invaded in the late 15th century, the town developed as a trading centre and stronghold of Muslim culture. Dubrovnik merchants built the Latin quarter (Latinluk), and migrating Sephardic Jews founded their quarter, Čifuthani. The 17th and 18th centuries were less fortunate—Prince Eugene of Savoy burned the town in 1697, while fires and plagues decimated the population.
The declining Ottoman Empire made Sarajevo the administrative seat of Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1850. When the Austro-Hungarian Empire ousted the Turks in 1878, Sarajevo remained the administrative seat and was largely modernized in the following decades. During this period it also became the centre of the Bosnian Serbs’ resistance movement, the Mlada Bosna, whose resentment of Austrian rule culminated on June 28, 1914, when a Bosnian Serb, Gavrilo Princip, assassinated the Austrian heir apparent, Archduke Franz Ferdinand, and his wife. The Austro-Hungarian government used this incident as a pretext for mobilizing against Serbia, thus precipitating World War I. In November 1918 the Diet of Sarajevo proclaimed union within Yugoslavia. During the German occupation of World War II, Sarajevo resistance fighters in the republic fought several crucial battles against the Germans. After World War II, Sarajevo rapidly repaired the considerable war damage. After Bosnia and Herzegovina declared independence in 1992, Sarajevo became a focal point of fierce warfare in the region in the mid-90s, and the city suffered considerable damage. Recovery was slow thereafter.
Sarajevo is the centre of a road network and has a rail connection to the Adriatic. Old craft trades, particularly metalware and carpet making, continue. Sarajevo was the site for the 1984 Winter Olympic Games. The city’s pre-civil war industry included a sugar-beet refinery, brewery, furniture factory, tobacco factory, hosiery works, communications plants, an agribusiness combine, and an automobile industry. Pop. (2005 est.) 380,000.