Bosnia and Herzegovina
Global Destinations:
Visit Transylvania
Home - Africa - Asia - Australia - Canada - Caribbean - Central America - Eastern Europe - Europe - Hawaii -
Mexico - Middle East - New Zealand - North America - South America - South Pacific - UK - USA
Visit Transylvania
Eastern & Central Europe Locations:
Visit Transylvania
Bosnia and Herzegovina - Bulgaria - Croatia - Czech Republic - Estonia - Hungary - Latvia - Lithuania - Macedonia - Poland - Romania - Russia - Serbia - Slovakia - Slovenia - Ukraine
Visit Transylvania
Other Options:

Eco-Tourism Vacations - Travel Blog - Join Us - Site Map - Contact Us
Australia

BOSNIA & HERZEGOVINA - EASTERN EUROPE - TRAVEL & ACCOMMODATION GUIDE

Bosnia and Herzegovina

Popular Destinations in Bosnia & Herzegovina

Banja Luka - Bihac - Jahorina - Medugorje - Mostar - Neum - Pale - Sarajevo - Trebinje - Tuzla - Visoko - Vlasic

Bosnia & Herzegovina Home

Booking.com

View map of Eastern EuropeView map of Eastern Europe

View map of Eastern EuropeView map of Bosnia & Herzegovina

BOSNIA & HERZEGOVINA TRAVEL INFORMATION

Article on buying Bosnia Property

Visiting Sarajevo   by D.K.

Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina is the lively city of 400.00 people nested in the valley called Sarajevo field, surrounded by Dinaric Alps and split by Miljacka River. It is one of the most historically interesting cities in Europe. It is a place where East and West Roman Empire split, where Eastern Orthodox and western Roman Catholic met and it has been great example of historical turbulence and clash of civilizations.

Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina

The Sarajevo valley has a long and rich history dating back to the Neolithic period, but the modern city arose as an Ottoman stronghold in 15th century. The city was found by the Turkish general on banks of Miljacaka an 1461 and it served as the capital of Ottoman-ruled Province of Bosnia, in heart of the Balkan. The Ottoman general with grand ambitions started constructing the settlement starting with the construction of the city's Old town district, including a water-supply system, mosque, closed marketplace, public bath, hostel, and Governor's palace. It was two centuries later when the city confronted political strive. Ottoman Empire was forced by the European powers to hand Bosnia over to the Austro-Hungary. European elegance imposed by Hapsburg is evident in the city's architecture so in just a few steps you are crossing cultural and religious divide between timeless Ottoman and dynamic Austro-Hungarian.

Sarajevo attracted international attention couple of times starting with the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria on 28 of June 1914 which led to the start of World War I, one month later.

Seventy years later Sarajevo hosted 1984 Winter Olympic Games. In order to encourage participation the city agreed to pay the expenses of one male and one female participant from each nation and made their Olympic Games debuts as a record number of countries (49) competed at Sarajevo.

Bosnia and Herzegovina

Most recent is the siege of Sarajevo, which is the longest siege in history of modern warfare lasting from April 5, 1992 to February 29, 1996. It is estimated that of the more than 12,000 people who were killed and 50,000 who were wounded during the siege, 85% were civilians.

Today, Sarajevo has made a substantial recovery. By 2004, most of the damage done to buildings during the siege had been fixed. New construction projects have made Sarajevo perhaps the fastest growing city in former Yugoslavia.

Sarajevo has a strong tourist industry and was named by the Lonely Planet 43rd Best City in the World in 2006. Sarajevo was also the first city in Europe and the second city in the world to have a full-time operational electric tram network running through the city, the first being San Francisco.

Things to see

Old Town - The cobbled streets, mosques and Oriental style shops at the heart the city are a world away from Europe, and when the call-to-prayer starts, one could be forgiven for thinking that they were actually in the Middle East. The most interesting thing (you call it the most amazing thing as well) is that you could actually be walking by a Catholic church, Orthodox Church and a Synagogue and hears the Islamic call to prayer at the same time.

Bosnia and Herzegovina

Latin Bridge - This Bridge bears a plaque commemorating the assassination of Archduke of the Austrian Hungarian Empire Franz Ferdinand, the event that sparked the beginning of World War I. On the Bridge it self was a memorial to the assassin Gavrilo Princip, but this was removed during the 1992-1995 War. Bosnia was at the end of World War Two the biggest haven for Balkan and European Jews who found a perfect environment to build their society back.

Bosnian Historical Museum- The moving display on the siege of Sarajevo is a must-see - if you are able to cope with the pictures of the maimed citizens after shelling of markets. Wonder at the photos of an ineffective UN providing armored vehicles citizens could wait behind before risking sniper fire to cross the street. And you will be heartbroken by the pictures drawn by children.

National Museum - Statistic displays of the natural and human history of Bosnia and Herzegovina - most interesting is the traditional Turkish style homes of Sarajevo prevalent in the nineteenth century.

Sarajevo Tunnel Museum - This museum shows the tunnel which was used to ferry supplies into the besieged city during the conflict and is next to the airport. Taxi from the center city costs around 17KM one way. Entrance to the museum is 5KM. It is open 7 days a week from 9 to 5. Get the number three (3) tram to the end of the line from the city center. Then get a taxi to the Tunnel Museum and walk back to the tram station if it's a nice day (takes about half an hour). The tunnel itself is in the garden of a house so don't be worried if you think you're headed into suburbia!

Bosnia and Herzegovina

Events

Sarajevo Film Festival, Held annually during August, the festival has a reputation of being one of the best in Europe (if you compared the funds used).

MESS - International theater festival Sarajevo, held annually during October

Sarajevo Jazz Festival - Held during first week of November since 1997

Sarajevo Winter International Festival, The first festival was held in 1984 during the Olympic Games in Sarajevo. Since then, it has been held regularly each year and brings into the city various artists from around the world. The interesting thing about the festival is that it has never stopped even during the war.

How to arrive by plane: Sarajevo Airport - is located in the suburb of Butmir and is relatively close to the city centre.

top

About the Author: Planning to visit Sarajevo? For Cheap Air Tickets To Bosnia and Sarajevo visit AirTicketsForCheap.net.