According to abbreviationfinder, Sarajevo is the capital of the state and the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, on the Miljacka (tributary of the Bosna), (2013) around 350,000 residents (1991: 415,600 residents; majority Muslims).
Sarajevo is located on the eastern edge of the Sarajevo Basin in the Dinaric Mountains, 540 m above sea level. The metropolitan area forms its own administrative canton (1,277 km 2, 418,500 residents). The south-eastern suburbs already belong to the “Republic of Serbia” territorial unit in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Sarajevo is the seat of a Serbian Orthodox metropolitan and a Catholic archbishop as well as the spiritual head of the Muslims of Bosnia and Herzegovina. As the country’s educational center, it has a university (since 1949), academy of sciences and arts, Islamic theological college, art college, meteorological observatory, several research institutes and museums (national museum, city museum, historical museum), picture gallery, national library and national theater.
The traditional industry with tobacco, leather and wood processing as well as textile and food industries came to a standstill for the most part during the Bosnian War; More recent branches are vehicle construction and the electrotechnical-electronic industry. Sarajevo is a road and rail hub; there is an international airport south of the city; a cable car leads to Trebević (1,629 m above sea level).
Attractions
The ethnic segregation is very pronounced. The quarters inhabited by Christians are concentrated on the riverside and merge into modern large housing estates in the west, while the residential areas of the Muslims are in the upper town, 170 m above the narrow Miljackatal, with three city gates, several mosques (including the Gazi-Husref-Beg Mosque from 1530–31), the Baščaršija square and the bazaar. The Orthodox Archangel Church (16th and 18th centuries) is now an icon museum.
History
The Sarajevo Basin was already populated by the Butmir and Vučedol cultures in the Neolithic period. Traces of Illyrian and Roman settlement have been preserved from antiquity; Temporarily inhabited by Goths in the 7th century. Under the Bosnovár (Croatian Vrhbosna) castle, built in 1262, a place was first attested in 1415, which fell under Turkish rule in 1463 and was mentioned in 1507 as Bosna Saraj. The flourishing Sarajevo was the main arsenal of the Turks and since 1850 the seat of the administration of Bosnia and Herzegovina. In 1878, Austria-Hungary became part of Bosnia. Sarajevo hosted the 1984 Winter Olympics. During the civil war 1992–95, the city suffered severe damage and the reconstruction was carried out with international aid.
On June 28, 1914, the Austrian heir to the throne, Franz Ferdinand, was murdered here, which, given the political framework, was seen as a trigger for the First World War.
Stećci – medieval tombstones (World Heritage)
The medieval cemeteries and tombstones, so-called Stećci, in parts of the Balkan countries were created between the 12th and 16th centuries. The Stećci, also known as »Bogomile stones«, are mainly hewn from limestone and covered with inscriptions and an extremely diverse range of motifs (e.g. figures of knights or hunting scenes). Many of the religious symbols used are puzzling. The cemeteries are laid out in rows, as was common in Europe since the Middle Ages. 30 typical burial grounds in Bosnia and Herzegovina, western Serbia, western Montenegro and central and southern Croatia were selected for the World Heritage Site. There are said to be a total of 58,000 of these medieval tombstones in the Balkans.
Stećci – medieval tombstones: facts
Official title:
Stećci – medieval tombstones
Cultural monument:
Medieval grave fields in the Balkan countries with gravestones (Stećci), the symbols of which have not yet been fully unraveled
Continent:
Europe
Country:
Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Montenegro, Croatia
Location:
30 burial grounds in the Balkan countries
Appointment:
2016
Meaning:
Testimony to the Christian, medieval burial culture in parts of the Balkan countries
Drinabrücke (World Heritage)
Built on the instructions of the Serbian-born Janissary Grand Vizier Sokollu Mehmed Pasha in the 16th century, the bridge over the Drina served the rulers as a checkpoint on the road from Sarajevo to Serbia. For the residents of Višegrad, however, it was and is above all a popular meeting place.
Drina bridge: facts
Official title:
Mehmed Paša Sokolovic Bridge in Višegrad
Cultural monument:
Bridge over the Drina River built in the 16th century by court architect Mimar Koca Sinan by order of the Ottoman Grand Vizier Sokolović in Višegrad (today in the east of Bosnia-Herzegovina); 180 m long, at the highest point 15 m high stone bridge with eleven pillar arches from eleven to 15 m span and 120 m long, right-angled access ramp on the left bank; elegant, monumental and for the economic development important building of Ottoman architecture; strategically important connection of the Danube plain with Sarajevo and the Adriatic Sea
Continent:
Europe
Country:
Bosnia Herzegovina
Location:
Višegrad, Republika Srpska
Appointment:
2007
Meaning:
Masterpiece of Ottoman architecture; Milestone in the history of civil architecture and bridge building; Testimony to the cultural exchange between Occident and Orient, between Islam and Christianity; Document of the cultural importance of the Ottoman Empire
