Sarajevo"In the green and wooded bosom of this mountainous and springy land of Bosnia, there is an enchanting city called Sarajevo."
Sarajevo, city and capital, Bosnia and Herzegovina (commonly referred to as Bosnia), on the Miljacka River, in the east central part of the countr. Before civil war broke out in 1992, the city was an important cultural and commercial center with a multiethnic population of Muslims, Bosnian Serbs, and Bosnian Croats.
There is only one Bascarsija: The one of Sarajevo. For centuries has this space, with tame buildings covered with tiles within reach, been just what its name says: the main square of an old town. In the history of Sarajevo, Bascarsija has been for centuries the centre of trade, handicraft, culture, education, politics and entertainment."
The dome covered mosques of various sizes, which can be found all over old Sarajevo, are, according to historians, in fact of Roman or Byzantian origin respectively."
The large cupolas, covered with painted fine metal, framed by popular trees and minarets, are nevertheless adopted to such a degree to human size, that in the scope of Bascarsija in particular they represent a harmonious whole. In the picture the largest one: Beg's Mosque."
The National Museum is the oldest cultural and scientific institution in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Founded in the year 1888, it has archeological, ethnological and natural history departments, with several rich and varied permanent displays as well as a voluminous scientific library."
S
arajevo's principal manufactures included carpets, silks, fabrics, jewelry, tobacco goods, and machine tools. The war had a disastrous impact on the city's economy. Much of Sarajevo's infrastructure, industry, and housing were damaged or destroyed, and production in all major industries declined sharply.
History of Sarajevo
Sarajevo was settled in the 14th century. From 1429 to 1878 the city was part of the Ottoman Empire, and numerous examples of architecture from that period still remain. Sarajevo then came under the rule of Austria-Hungary. On June 28, 1914, Francis Ferdinand, archduke of Austria, was assassinated in Sarajevo. This event touched off World War I (1914-1918). After the war, Sarajevo, as part of Bosnia and Herzegovina, became part of Yugoslavia. In 1984 Sarajevo hosted the Winter Olympic Games.
In 1992 Bosnia and Herzegovina declared its independence from Yugoslavia. War erupted shortly thereafter between Bosnian Serbs, who wanted to remain part of Yugoslavia and Bosnian Croats and Muslims. More than 150,000 residents fled Sarajevo while thousands of poor Muslims from rural areas settled in the city. Serb separatists abandoned the national legislature and refused to recognize the authority of the Bosnian government in Sarajevo. They established their own parliament in the nearby town of Pale, with their administrative headquarters in Banja Luka, and mounted an armed siege of Sarajevo. More than 10,500 residents were killed in the Sarajevo area between 1992 and 1995, and thousands more were wounded. Several city districts were captured by radical Serbs and non-Serbs were forced to flee. The separatists wanted to divide the city into two distinct areas: one as the capital of Bosnia, the other as the capital of a Serb republic. The predominantly Muslim Bosnian government opposed partition and gained international support to keep Sarajevo united. Under the peace plan signed in Dayton, Ohio, in 1995, a North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) force was stationed in the country and all three groups (Muslim, Serb, and Croat) agreed that Sarajevo was to remain united as the capital of Bosnia. Population (1991) 495,631; (1996 estimate) 250,000.
Founded in 1263, Sarajevo, then a citadel known as Vrh-Bosna, fell to the Turks in 1429 and was renamed Bosna-Saraj, or Bosna-Seraj. The town established around the citadel became an important Turkish military and commercial center and reached the peak of its prosperity in the 16th cent. The Congress of Berlin (1878) gave Sarajevo and the rest of
Bosnia and Hercegovina to Austria-Hungary, where it remained until its incorporation in 1918 into Yugoslavia. The city was a center of the Serbian nationalist movement. The assassination in Sarajevo of Archduke
Francis Ferdinand and his wife on June 28, 1914, was an immediate cause of World War I. Sarajevo was the scene of several important battles between Allied resistance fighters and the Germans in World War II, during which the city sustained considerable damage. In 1984 the city was host to the Winter Olympics
SARAJEVO DATES
2400 to 2000 B.C.
Remains of the oldest cultural heritage from the Neolithic era discovered.
1416
The first Turkish invasion of Hodidjed (the original name of Sarajevo)
1443
Turkish rule permanently established in Hodidjed.
1455
Two names of Vrhbosna: Hodidjed and Vilajet Sarajovasi mentinaed for the first time in the written documents of Turkish chroniclers.
1462
The first masonry bridge constructed on the Miljacka river - the Emperor's Bridge, followed by Cumurija and Skenderija.
1464
The first public bath built in Sarajevo. The number of these increased to five by 1509.
1507
The first preserved document in which the name of the town - Sarajevo has been mentioned
1512
The first Turkish coins minted in Sarajevo
1530
The travel writer Benedit Kuripesic stayed in Sarajevo where he wrote the first travel description of Bosnia and Herzegovina, printed in Sarajevo.
1531
The Gazi Husrefbeg Mosque was built
1537
The nobleman Husref Beg endowed 300,000 drams of silver in minted coins to be lent at the interest rate of 10 per cent. According to the instructions, money could be lent by th Foundation only to merchants, while lending to soldiers, civil servants and overseers was prohibited.
1539
The construction of the old orthodox church and school was completed.
1543
Two pharmacies operate in Sarajevo. Their owners are Jakov Popov and Petar vodopic, citizents of Dubrovnik.
1550
The Venetian envoy Katarino Zeno stayed in Sarajevo. In his description of the town he pointed out that "the gardens are as beautiful as those in Venice".
1565
First records of an organized customs administration in Sarajevo. The existence of the service for quality control of merchandise is also mentioned in the record.
1565
Seven large inns(hans) for travellers and traders as well as 25 smaller ones are mentioned in the records of chroniclers. A winter service for road maintenance was introduced. The personnel which worked for this service was called "Derbedzije" and "Furundzije" and their task was to clean the road from snow and ice and to set up poles for marking the depth of snow.
1658
The travel writers Pule and Kikle provide a wealth of interesting data. By then there were 101 mosques, 169 fountains, 670 baths, 26 hans (inns), 7 imarets(houses with bachelor dwellings), 140 quarters and 400 streets. The authors of the record point out the ethnic features of Sarajevo population: the hospitality, the types of clothing and diet, hygienic habits, entertainment, excursion places, hunting.
1680
The Italian Bonetti provides the first geographical data on Sarajevo which was published in Europe: "The perimeter is 6 miles, it has 50,000 inhabitants. The mountains around Sarajevo are covered with snow in the month of May."
1680
Sarajevo has nine bridges over the river Miljacka.
1776
The first exchange rate for gold was published in Sarajevo as well as the first extended list of exchange rates for various currencies.
1840
The first regular coach service was introduced between Sarajevo and Istambul. Mail deliveries took 10 to 12 days.
1857
Sarajevo was linked by telegraph wire with Istanbul, and in 1862 with Metkovic, then trading centre.
1878
The first professional salared fire brigade was created.
1882
The first teachers college was founded. The "Europa" hotel was opened.
1884
The decision to build the first public water supply system and the sewerage network in Sarajevo was taken. The first tourist association with 600 members was created.
1885
First horse-drawn streetcar ride.
1888
The National Museum was created in Sarajevo.
1894
The big national hospital Kosevo was opened. In the same year the first meteorological station started operation on the summit of Mt. Bjelasnica. The first thermal electrical power plant was complited.
1895
Electrical lighting was introduced in the Sarajevo streets. The first electrical streetcar was inaugurated.
1897
The first telephone was introduced.
1904
The Balkanological Institute was created.
1905
The Congress of the International Botanical Association. Up to 1910 several international scientific gatherings took place.
1906
General strike of workers in Sarajevo.
1908
The first soccer matches in Sarajevo.
1910
Bogdan Zerajic, a member of the "Young Bosna", the organization of Bosnian revolutionary youth, made an unsuccesful assassination attempt on the general Milan Varesanin.
1911
The first long distance cavalry race Dubrovnik-Sarajevo was organized.
1914
Gavrilo Princip, member of the "Young Bosna", assassinated the Austrian Crown Prince Franz Ferdinand.
This event was the immediate reason for the beginning of the First World War.
1928
The first workers' sports gathering took place.
1933
Basketball games were first introduced to Sarajevo.
1941
Demonstrations of the workers and the progressive youth of Sarajevo against the adherence of Yugoslavia to the Tripartite Pact (March 27th). The organizers of the demonstrations were the Communist party of Yugoslavia and the progressive trade union and youth movements. Large patriotic crowds participated in the demonstration.
1941
The German occupation troups entered Sarajevo and soon the Ustashi government was established.
1941
The reunion of the Regional Committee of the Communist Party of Yugoslavia for Bosnia and Herzegovina took place and it was decided that a general national uprising should be started (july 13th).
1942
A historical piercing of the encirclement by the fascist forces was carried out by the First Proleterian Brigade of the People's Liberation Army. The units of the First Proleterian Brigade marched, under severest conditions, at a temperature of 32 degrees C below zero, through the Sarajevo plain and Mt. Igman to Trnovo and Foca in the liberated teritory. This movement of Partisan units is recorded in history as the Igman march during which more than 150 perished from freezing (January 27th and 28th).
1944
The illegal committee of the National Liberation front for the city of Sarajevo was formed. By the end of the same year illegal National Liberation Committees for the city boroughs were formed.
1945
Sarajevo was liberated by units of the Yugoslav army on April 6th, at 8 a.m.
1946
The faculties of Medicine and of Law were founded in Sarajevo, as well as the art Gallery and the National Library.
1948
According to census figures Sarajevo had 179,791 inhabitants.
1949
The Law regulating the creation of the University of Sarajevo was passed. The Museum of the City of Sarajevo was founded
1962
The inhabitants of Sarajevo vote in a referendum for the first citizens' self-contribution for the development of Sarajevo. Since then the inhabitants of Sarajevo set apart, from their personnal incomes, the means for coping with the common city problems.
1971
According to census, sarajevo had 359,452 inhabitants.
1973
The world Championships in ping pong and handball were succesfully carried out in Sarajevo.
1979
The International Olympic Committee bestowed on Sarajevo, at its session in Athens on May 18th, the honour of organizing the 14th Winter Olympic Games, in February 1984.
1981
The population of Sarajevo grew to 448,500 inhabitants in ten urban boroughs, according to the fifth Census.
1984
The 14th Winter Olympic Games were succesfully held in Sarajevo, being characterised as the best to the time.
1991
According to 1991 census Sarajevo had 525,980 inhabitants.
1992
Bosnia-Herzegovina holds referendum.
2/3 vote for independence with equal rights of Bosnian Muslim, Serbs and Croats citizents. Rural Bosnian Serbs boycott referendum.
1992
Mass demonstrations for peace are held in Sarajevo. Protestants are being shot at by SDS extremists. On 6th of April first mortar shells fall on Sarajevo. Former Yugoslav Peoples Army invades Bosnia-Herzegovina. Ethnic cleansing, rape and mass murder follows.
1992
National library "Vijecnica" burns in flames as well as many other cultural and sports buildings in Sarajevo.
1995
"Peace" comes back to Sarajevo and trams (simbols of the city) are working again.
1997
On 23 September, popular Irish band U2, plays on olympic stadium "Kosevo", in front of 45 000 people.
1998
On 7 and 8 February, Djordje Balasevic visits Sarajevo for the first time in 7 years.
