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| Sarajevo from Castle Hill. |
Sarajevo is now a teeming city, most of it rebuilt, expanded and attempting to forget the Siege that killed so many. New shopping centers, rebuilt hotels and a vibrant business district lure business men and locals. But all over town a few reminders still linger. Without dwelling on the past, these places are worthy of a visit to see how far the city and the people have come.
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The Latin Bridge, where ArchDuke Ferdinand was assassinated and World War I began.
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The Latin Bridge
One of the most famous and infamous sights in all of Sarajevo is also one of the least impressive. The Latin Bridge was the location of the assignation of Franz Ferdinand, the heir to the Austrian throne. It was his assassination, by Serbian Gavrilo Princip, in hopes of incorporating Bosnian into greater Serbia, that was the immediate trigger to World War I. Before the Bosnian War, the bridge was named Princip Bridge, it is now the Latin Bridge. A small museum sits on the Old Town side that describes the day and recreates the scene.
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New grave markers line the front of Ali Pasha’s Mosque.
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Ali Pasha's Mosque
A wide street fronts the Ali Pasha’s Mosque, built in 1560. Across the street is a hill park, which is peaceful and green, even in winter. But the hill above this used to be home for snipers by the score. Ali Pasha’s Mosque was an outpost during the Siege. The front courtyard contains an array of new marble columns, the headstones for those killed. It is a simple reminder of what price the population paid for their city.
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| A Famous Tito statue - draped in police tape |
The Museum of Bosnia Herzegovina
This Museum now houses the history of the Siege of Sarajevo. Most of the upper floor has been turned over to how people survived the Siege. It doesn’t dwell on the killings as much as the efforts of the people of Sarajevo to cope with the lack of necessities. The museum has invited the citizens to donated items from the time and an eclectic and heartbreaking collection of civic detritus is the result. At the entrance of the space information about the war crimes and prosecutions greet the visitor. It is a emotional sight.
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| The Library on a foggy night. |
The Sarajevo Library
At the far end of the city, the beautiful Moorish Revival Sarajevo Library stands, majestic but closed. In an attempt to erase history, the Serbian forces fire bombed the National Library and then fired on any people that tried to extinguish the fire. Over three million documents and volumes were destroyed, including almost all dating from the Ottoman or Austrian period. It was an attempt to destroy the culture of Bosnia, and thereby eliminate the argument that and “independent Bosnian” should function. It stands, day and night, as a silent reminder of the spirit of those that defended the city.
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| Top row: Memorabilia from Sarajevo Games including the mascot which is prevalent in the city. Lower left, the Sarajevo emblem. Lower right, a gift from the LA Olympics to Sarajevo - the sculpture sits in front of the LA Olympic Stadium (the Coliseum) |
The Museum of the 1984 Olympics
Calling this a Museum is pushing at the limits of the definition, but the Sarajevo games were memorable to me. Those games took place in 1984, the same year as the second Los Angeles Summer Olympics. I attended the LA games, and knew lots of members of the team. I also attended the Beijing Summer and Vancouver Winter Olympics, so I have a soft spot in my heart for Olympic Museums. Ed and I visited the Venue for the Montreal Games, the Berlin Games, the Athens Games and more. So I jumped at the chance to see the Sarajevo Olympic Museum.
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The Museum is housed in the 1984 Stadium where the Opening Ceremonies were held. It is now home to the National Sports committees. It was said to be open until 3:30 and I arrived at 3:15 and asked. A nice woman – Bosnia is filled with amazingly accommodating people, took me into a large room, which was set up for a Press Event the next day (the Futbol team had qualified for the World Cup) and turned on the lights. She asked me to be careful, and let me roam around the room. In display case after display case were the mementos of those 1984 games. Scattered about with them were also reminders of the Los Angeles Games of that summer. It was a little surreal wandering through these reminders of 1984. The Sarajevo Games were hosted by Yugoslavia, which would disintegrate less than a decade later. I ran the gamut of emotions that I won’t try to explain, (I would just sound silly). But for a moment, time seemed to fold in on itself, so much had happened in the 30 years since those games. An impossible amount of history, both my personal history and this city and country I was standing in. It was disconcerting, but I was happy.