Sarajevo, located in South-Eastern Europe, on the Balkan peninsula, is the captial city of, and also the administrative, economic, cultural and sports centre of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is the home of Nobel prize winners, Oscar winners, sports champions... It hosts world famous music, film and drama festivals, and welcomes all sorts of world renowned artists, from U2 to Milan's scale chorus. Being Bosnia's most important city, it has felt the full impact of Bosnia's century long reputation of being the point in Europe where East meets West. Because of this, the city is famous for its traditional religious diversity, with adherents of Islam, Orthodoxy, Catholicism and Judaism coexisiting there for centuries. Due to this long and rich history of religous and ethnical diversity and coexistance, Sarajevo is full of assorted architertural and curtural attractions. Apart from its rich history and culture, Sarajevo hosts a plethora of cafes, bars, pubs, clubs and other interesting destinations where both young and old come to unwind, such as the various hookah (or nargile) cafes.

History

The Sarajevo valley has a long and rich history, dating back to the Neolithic period (about 3 millenia B.C.), the most famous example being the Butmir Culture which flourished where modern day Sarajevo is now located, in the suburb of Ilidža. Following the Illyrians, Sarajevo was populated by the Romans, the Goths, and the Slavs.

Little is known about Sarajevo during the Middles Ages. However, the next civilization to conquer Bosnia (ca. 1450) founded Sarajevo as we know it today – the Ottoman Empire. Sarajevo grew rapidly under Ottoman rule (most notably under Gazi Husrev-beg), and at its height was the largest and most important Ottoman city in the Balkans after Istanbul itself. Sarajevo was under Ottoman rule until the Austria-Hungarian Empire conquered Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1878 as a part of the Treaty of Berlin. The Habsburg period of Sarajevo's history is characterized by industrialization, development, westernization, and political and social change. Architects and engineers rushed to the city at this time to rebuild it, resulting in a unique blend of the remaining Ottoman city market and western architecture. Sarajevo was the first city in Europe to have a tram, as a result of an Austrian experiment.

The most famous and remembered event in the history of Habsburg Sarajevo, and a significant date in modern history, is the assassination of the Archduke Franz Ferdinand, marking the beginning of World War I.

After this, Sarajevo remained the capital of Bosnia as it became a part of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, and later, the Social Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. Possibly the most important moment of Sarajevo’s time in Yugoslavia, was the 1984 Winter Olympic Games. Sarajevo won the privilege of hosting the Olympics over Sapporo, Japan, and Falun/Göteborg, Sweden. The Sarajevo Olympics are widely regarded as one of the most successful winter Olympic Games in history. The history of modern Sarajevo begins with the declaration of independence of Bosnia and Herzegovina, from Yugoslavia, in 1992.

Geographical features

Sarajevo lies in the Sarajevo valley, in the middle of the Dinaric Alps. It is surrounded by stunning beauty in the form of heavily forested hills and five major mountains – Treskavica, Bjelašnica, Jahorina, Trebević and Igman. The last four are known as the Olympic mountatins of Sarajevo. The Miljacka river is one the city's main geographic features. It flows through the city from east, through the centre, to the west part of the city where it meets up with the Bosna river. The Bosna's source, Vrelo Bosne (eng. Spring of Bosnia), near Ilidža, is another notable natural landmark and a popular tourist destination.

Sightseeing

Gazi Husrev-Beg's Mosque - (1530/31) is the most significant Islamic building in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and is distinguished by its architectural values, varied base, multi dome system and courageously constructive solution from all other sub-dome mosques built in this country.

Cathedral - The Catholic cathedral of the Vrhbosanska archbishop's diocese, consecrated to the Most Holy Heart of Jesus, was built and blessed in 1889, according to the design of Josip pl. Vancaš, in the new Gothic architecture style with new Romanesque elements. It is similar to the cathedral Notre Dame in Dijon.

Baščaršija (eng. main market) - considered to be the main street of Sarajevo and one of its most important landmarks. It is located in the old town part of Sarajevo, designed in the Ottoman-Turkish style and loaded with souvenir shops and public fountains. It contains a bazaar that sells all kinds of metalwork, jewellery and pottery. Each street is dedicated to a different craft. It was built in the 16th century.

The National Museum of Bosnia and Herzegovina - located in central Sarajevo. It was established in 1888. The museum is a cultural and scientific institution covering a wide range of areas including archaeology, art history, ethnology, geography, history and natural history. The Sarajevo Haggadah, an illuminated manuscript and the oldest Sephardic Jewish document in the world issued in Barcelona around 1350, containing the traditional Jewish Haggadah, is held at the museum.

Vijećnica (eng. City Hall) - The City Hall is the biggest and the most representative building from the Austro-Hungarian period in Sarajevo. The building construction started in 1892, and finished in 1894.

The building was constructed in a mixture of styles combining historicism and pseudo-Moorish styles. The style models are the so-called Mozarab and Moorish arts from Spain and the Maghreb. The City Hall building was constructed on the site where once a house was situated. The house owner wanted to have his house practically carried brick by brick and rebuilt on the other side of the Miljacka opposite to the City Hall. His request was fulfilled, and the house is standing to this day. It is known as the INAT KUĆA (Spite House).