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On this walking tour with our professional local guide you will discover why Sarajevo is also called a European Jerusalem. Sarajevo is a multicultural city, unique in terms of religion in Europe, often compared to Jerusalem or New York, a city of friendship and cordiality, with open and straightforward people. The religious buildings of four of the most important religions in the world are located in the center itself, within only a few minutes walk of each other. It is a city where historical buildings of Ottoman, Austro-Hungarian and modern times intertwine. The city will be remembered by all of those who visited Sarajevo in 1984, when the magnificent winter Olympic Games where held there, which were then proclaimed as the best ones organized ever.
Sarajevo is one of the rare capital cities in the world that can offer its visitors all of the possibilities of winter tourism. On the surrounding mountains, Bjelašnica, Igman, Jahorina, where the best Olympians competed in the past, even the most demanding of skiers can find what they are looking for. Sarajevo is the capital and the largest city in Bosnia and Herzegovina with about 400 000 inhabitants, the administrative, commercial, cultural and university center of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The Bascarsija Square had been here from the Middle Ages, as a central place of commerce where people from the surrounding villages used to trade. Visiting Baščaršija, really is a visit to the past times away from the fast pace of today.
It was built in the 15th century when Sarajevo was founded. The word “Bas” in Turkish means – the principal, so the translation of its name meant “Main Street”. In the 19th century, it experienced a great fire when flames engulfed half of Baščaršija. Its present appearance dates mainly from that time.
Among numerous historical monuments most famous are those from the endowment of Gazi Husrev-bey: mosque, madrasa, market, baths, and imaret. And there are many other important structures such as numerous mosques, Orthodox Church from the 16th century, khans, covered markets, and the fountain Sebilj.
Latin Bridge (Bos. Latinska ćuprija, named Principov most – “Princip Bridge” during the Yugoslav era), is a historic bridge over the Miljacka River in Sarajevo.
The northern end of the bridge was the site of the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria by Gavrilo Princip, in 1914, which became a casus belli of World War I.
The bridge got its name after the nearby Latin, i.e. Dubrovnik trade colony. Judging by its foundation, it is the oldest among the preserved bridges in the city.
This interesting object has more to do with the character of old Sarajevo men, proud and somewhat stubborn craftsmen, and merchants than with the dwelling in old Sarajevo.
When Austro-Hungarian builders reconstructed the bank of the Miljacka, the work required the demolition of a house situated on the right bank of the Miljacka near today’s Town Hall (Vijecnica). According to tradition, the owner did not permit the destruction of his house, despite all attempts to persuade him. He finally accepted, but on condition that his house is moved to the other bank of the Miljacka, stone by stone; and that he be given a purse full of ducats. Allegedly, the owner was seen as spiteful and therefore the house is known today as Inat Kuća (House of Spite).
The old Orthodox church is one of the oldest and most valuable cultural and historical monuments of Sarajevo and it is among the oldest religious buildings in the area. It was first mentioned in 1539. but it is assumed that it was built on the foundations of an even older church. It is characterized by a style of medieval Serbian-Byzantine building. The church is an outstanding architectural monument and its interior is a treasury of extraordinary examples of wood and stonemason’s craft and art of icon-painting. The belfry was added in 1883. and it was reconstructed in 1960 when it got its current appearance. There is a museum with a valuable collection of icons from the 13th to the 19th century, numerous manuscripts, liturgical and artistic exhibits, located in the inner courtyard.
Imagine walking through a tunnel just over 1.5-meters high, carrying a 50kg load, between a live electricity cable on one side and an oil pipeline on the other.
The tunnel runs for 800 meters, emerging at either end in a war zone. This is how a lot of supplies got into Sarajevo, through the tunnel that proved a lifeline during the three-and-a-half-year siege.
Spring of the river Bosnia is one of the most famous landmarks in Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is located on the outskirts of Sarajevo, near Ilidža, below the slopes of mountains Igman and Bjelašnica. The spring is certainly one of the most famous scenes of natural beauty in the region.
It consists of several small islands that are connected with bridges over numerous small streams. Water surfaces are adorned with the scenes of beautiful black and white swans and ducks that the visitors like to photograph.
A special pleasure is a horse-carriage ride to the spring which is a tradition over 120 years long when the first carriages drove passengers to the spring of river Bosnia through the Alley.
The most important international contemporary art collection in South-East Europe, born in 1992 under the siege it includes the masterpieces donated to Sarajevo by world-famous artists like Marina Abramovic, Michelangelo Pistoletto, Jannis Kounellis, James Rosenquist, Gianni Dessi’, Daniel Buren, Louise Bourgeois, Jeff Koons, Robert Rauschenberg, Joseph Kosuth, Jan Fabre, Sandro Chia. The Italian architect Renzo Piano has designed the project of a Museum aimed at hosting the Collection.
During the rule of the Bosnian Kingdom, Visoko valley was a very important trade, cultural and educational center of the Bosnian Church. The Old Town „Čajangrad“ is a medieval fortress that served to defend Bobovac from enemies and today represents an archaeological site.
In recent times, tourists are attracted by the archeological finds of the alleged pyramids, which the archeologist Semir Osmanagic assumes is the work of an advanced civilization that settled in the areas of Bosnia and Herzegovina before the Illyrians. In any case, the pyramidal mountains surrounding Visoko are an interesting natural phenomenon.
Kraljeva Sutjeska is located in the central part of Bosnia and Herzegovina, in the area of the municipality Kakanj. It is situated in the valley of the river Trstionica. This is a peaceful settlement where you can see preserved authentic Bosnian houses, people wearing clothes that were used in this region in the past, and everything in it looks as if time had stopped. The Franciscan monastery, a magnificent medieval building that defies time and space, stands at the foot of a hill. It was built in the first half of the 14th century and in its long history, it was destroyed several times. Its current design dates from the year of 1890. Although the library and the archives were destroyed by fire, as were many other valuable items, there is still a rich archive of cultural and historical material in its chambers. Kraljeva Sutjeska is not only famous by the Franciscan monastery that dominates this area, but it is also famous for the oldest house in this part of the country – The Dusper House, which was built in the early 18th century and represents a national monument of Bosnia and Herzegovina that is protected by the country. Kraljeva Sutjeska is a settlement where one of the oldest mosques in Bosnia in Herzegovina is located. A few kilometers away, there is the royal city of Bobovac that hides a lot of historical stories, just like Kraljeva Sutjeska.
Visit the highest and most isolated mountainous village in Bosnia and Herzegovina which is situated 1.500 m above sea level. The traditional medieval way of life of the Dinaric highlanders is still practiced here. Here, local women still wear the traditional folk attire the same one as they used to wear centuries ago, and the village itself is well-known for its stone houses covered with cherry wood shingles.
Jajce is a city in Central Bosnia, in the Jajce basin, at the confluence of the Pliva and Vrbas rivers, which have always been characterized by unique natural beauties, while crucial historical events have taken place here since distant times to the present day.
Jajce, with its 22 national monuments, has submitted the required UNESCO nomination documentation to be placed on the World Heritage List in 2007. Monuments from ancient times and the Middle Ages have been preserved in Jajce: Mithras temple, from the 4th century, St Catherine’s Church, Franciscan monastery, Medvjed Tower, and the Town Gates, as well as many others. The city is surrounded by forest-covered mountains, and there are also two lakes, as well as the wonderful Pliva Waterfall (22,5m) in the very center of the city.
The city of Travnik, which had been the capital of Bosnian Pashaluk for 150 years, the residence of 77 viziers, seat of two consulates, lying in the heart of Bosnia and Herzegovina, represents the main administrative and political center of Central Bosnia Canton today.
In its past, rich in cultural and historical tradition, and encompassing interesting events and important personalities, the people of Travnik have called their city a city-museum in the open, and justly so. This city is unique in many ways and tells its own story at every step. Its exciting past has produced many important personalities and events.
