43°52N 18°26E, pop (2000e) 400 000. Capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina; on R Miljacka; governed by Austria, 18781918; scene of the assassination of Archduke Francis Ferdinand and his wife (28 Jun 1914); under siege and badly damaged in civil war, 19923; airport; railway; university (1946); vehicles, brewing, engineering, chemicals, carpets, tobacco; educational and cultural centre; site of 1984 Winter Olympic Games; old town, Husref Bey mosque, Imperial mosque, two cathedrals; song festival (Apr), International Festival of Military Music (Jun), slivovitz and wine fair (Oct), annual film festival.
| Sarajevo (Сарајево) | |||||
| Sarajevo in winter | |||||
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| Map of Bosnia and Herzegovina (Sarajevo) | |||||
| Coordinates: 43°52′0″N, 18°25′0″E | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Country | Bosnia and Herzegovina | ||||
| Entity | Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina | ||||
| Canton | Sarajevo Canton | ||||
| Mayor | Semiha Borovac | ||||
| Area | |||||
| - City | 142 km² (54.83 sq mi) | ||||
| Elevation | 500 m (1640.42 ft) | ||||
| Population | |||||
| - City (2005 (est.)) | 308,558 | ||||
| Time zone | Central European Time (UTC+1) | ||||
| Website: City of Sarajevo | |||||
Sarajevo (Cyrillic: Сарајево; It is also the capital of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina entity, and the de jure capital of the Republika Srpska entity, as well as the center of the Sarajevo Canton. Sarajevo is located in the Sarajevo valley of Bosnia proper, surrounded by the Dinaric Alps and situated around the Miljacka river. Sarajevo has attracted international attention several times throughout its history: In 1914 it was the site of the assassination that sparked World War I, while seventy years later it became the host city of the 1984 Winter Olympics.
Geography and climate
Sarajevo is located close to the center of the triangular shape of Bosnia and Herzegovina in southeastern Europe. It consists of four municipalities (or "Općina"): Centar (Center), Novi Grad (New City), Novo Sarajevo (New Sarajevo), and Stari Grad (Old Town).
The city, located in the Sarajevo valley amongst the Dinaric Alps mountain range, has two rivers flowing through it: the westward flowing Miljacka and the southward flowing Bosna.
Sarajevo has a continental climate, lying between the climate zones of central Europe to the North and the Mediterranean to the South.
History
The Sarajevo valley has a long and rich history dating back to the Neolithic period, when the Butmir Culture flourished.
In 1697, during the Great Turkish War, a raid was led by Prince Eugene of Savoy of the Habsburg Monarchy against the Ottoman Empire, which conquered Sarajevo and left it plague-infected and burned to the ground. The Ottoman Empire made Sarajevo an important administrative centre by 1850, but the ruling powers changed as the Austria-Hungarian Empire conquered Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1878 as part of the Treaty of Berlin, and annexed it completely in 1908. Sarajevo was industrialized by Austria-Hungary, who used the city as a testing area for new inventions, such as tramways, before installing them in Vienna.
In the event that triggered World War I, Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria and his wife Sophie, Duchess of Hohenberg, were assassinated in Sarajevo on June 28, 1914 by a Bosnian Serb nationalist named Gavrilo Princep.
In April 1941 Nazi Germany invaded Yugoslavia and bombarded Sarajevo. As part of the 1945 General Town Development Plan modern city blocks were built west of the old city, adding to Sarajevo's architectural uniqueness. The peak of city growth occurred in the early 1980s, when Sarajevo hosted the 1984 Winter Olympics.
On April 6, 1992, as Yugoslavia was falling disintegrating, Sarajevo was surrounded by the Yugoslav National Army (Bosnian: "Jugoslovenska Narodna Armija") and a number of paramilitary (Bosnian Serb Army) formations.
Government
Sarajevo is the capital of the country of Bosnia and Herzegovina and its sub-entity, the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as of the Sarajevo Canton.
The city is comprised of four municipalities which each operate their own municipal government, united to form one city government with its own constitution.
Sarajevo's Municipalities are further split into "local communities" (Bosnian, Mjesne zajednice).
Demographics
The last official census in Bosnia and Herzegovina took place 1991 which recorded 529,021 people living in Sarajevo. A 2005 estimate by the Sarajevo Canton government estimated the city's population at 308,558 people, 74% of the Canton's population. The Novo Sarajevo municipality is the most densely populated part of Sarajevo with about 7524 inhabitants per square kilometer, while the least densely populated is the Stari Grad, with 742 inhabitants per square kilometer.
See also: Historical population of Sarajevo
Economy
After decades of communism and years of war, Sarajevo's economy has been subject to reconstruction and rehabilitation programs. Amongst other economic landmarks, the Central Bank of Bosnia and Herzegovina opened in Sarajevo in 1997 and the Sarajevo Stock Exchange began trading in 2002.
While Sarajevo had a large industrial base during its communist period, only a few pre-existing businesses made the successful transition to the capitalist economy. Companies based in Sarajevo include B&H Airlines (Formerly Air Bosna), BH Telecom, Bosmal City Center, Bosnalijek, Energopetrol, Sarajevo Tobacco Factory, and Sarajevska Pivara (Sarajevo Brewery).
Sarajevo has a strong tourist industry and was named by Lonely Planet the 43rd Best City in the World in 2006. Examples of popular destinations in Sarajevo include the Vrelo Bosne park, the Sarajevo cathedral, and the Gazi Husrev-beg's Mosque.
Communications and media
As the capital and largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Sarajevo is the main center of the country's media.
Oslobodenje (Liberation), founded in 1943, is Sarajevo longest running newspaper and the only one to survive the war.
The Public Broadcast Service of Bosnia and Herzegovina is Sarajevo's public television station, one of three in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Other stations based in the city include NRTV “Studio 99”, NTV Hayat, Open Broadcast Network, TV Kantona Sarajevo and Televizija Alfa.
Transportation
Sarajevo's location in a valley between mountains make it a compact city. The main railroad station in Sarajevo is located in the north-central area of the city.
Sarajevo International Airport (IATA: SJJ) is located just a few kilometers southwest of the city.
Culture
Sarajevo has been home to many different ethnicities and religions for centuries, giving the city a range of diverse cultures.
The city is rich in museums, including the Museum of Sarajevo, the Ars Aevi Museum of Contemporary Art, the National Museum of Bosnia and Herzegovina (established in 1888 and home to the Sarajevo Haggadah), the Historical Museum of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the Museum of Literature and Theatre Arts of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The city also hosts the National theatre of Bosnia and Herzegovina, established in 1919, as well as the Sarajevo Youth Theatre. Other cultural institutions include the Center for Sarajevo Culture, Sarajevo City Library, Art Gallery of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the Bosniak Institute, a privately owned library and art collection focusing on Bosniak history.
Demolitions associated with the war, as well as reconstruction, destroyed several institutions and cultural or religious symbols including the Gazi Husrev-beg library, the national library, the Sarajevo Oriental Institute, and a museum dedicated to the 1984 Olympic games. Bodies charged with cultural preservation in Sarajevo include the Institute for the Protection of the Cultural, Historical and Natural Heritage of Bosnia and Herzegovina (and their Sarajevo Canton counterpart), and the Bosnia and Herzegovina Commission to Preserve National Monuments.
Historically, Sarajevo was home to several famous Bosnian poets and thinkers during the Ottoman Empire.
The Sarajevo Film Festival, established in 1995, has become the premier film festival in the Balkans. The Sarajevo Winter Festival, Sarajevo Jazz Festival are well-known, as are the Bašćaršija Nights, a month-long showcase of local culture, music, and dance.
The Sarajevo school of pop rock developed in the city between 1961 and 1991.
Sports
Sarajevo was the location of the 1984 Winter Olympics.
Football (soccer) is popular in Sarajevo;
Sarajevo often holds international events and competitions in sports such as tennis and kickboxing.
| Logo | Club | Leagues | Venue | Established |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FK Željezničar |
Premier League of Bosnia and Herzegovina
Football Association of Bosnia and Herzegovina |
Grbavica Stadium | 1921 | |
| FK Sarajevo |
Premier League of Bosnia and Herzegovina
Football Association of Bosnia and Herzegovina |
Asim Ferhatović Hase Stadium | 1946 | |
| FK Olimpik Sarajevo |
Football Association of Bosnia and Herzegovina
First League of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina |
Otoka Stadium | 1993 | |
| KK Bosna |
Premier League of Basketball of Bosnia and Herzegovina
Adriatic Basketball Association |
Mirza Delibasic Arena | 1951 |
Education
Higher education has a long tradition in Sarajevo. In the 1940s the University of Sarajevo became the city's first secular higher education institute.
Twin cities
See also: Town twinning| Ankara, Turkey Baku, Azerbaijan Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain Budapest, Hungary Bursa, Turkey Calgary, Canada Collegno, Italy Coventry, England Dayton, Ohio, USA Ferrara, Italy Friedrichshafen, Germany Innsbruck, Austria Istanbul, Turkey | Kuwait City, Kuwait Magdeburg, Germany Naples, Italy Prato, Italy Serre Chevalier, France Stockholm, Sweden Tianjin, China Tirana, Albania Tlemcen, Algeria Tripoli, Libya Venice, Italy Wolfsburg, Germany Zagreb, Croatia |
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