44 Facts About Sarajevo

Sarajevo is the political, financial, social and cultural center of Bosnia and Herzegovina and a prominent center of culture in the Balkans.

Sarajevo has gained international renown several times throughout its history.

In 2011, Sarajevo was nominated as the 2014 European Capital of Culture.

Name Sarajevo derives from the Turkish noun, meaning "palace" or "mansion" .

Sarajevo is near the geometric center of the triangular-shaped Bosnia and Herzegovina and within the historical region of Bosnia proper.

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Sarajevo is close to the center of the triangular shape of Bosnia and Herzegovina in southeastern Europe.

The Illyrians in the Sarajevo region belonged to the Daesitiates, the last Illyrian people in Bosnia and Herzegovina to resist Roman occupation.

Sarajevo was founded by the Ottoman Empire in the 1450s upon its conquest of the region, with 1461 used as the city's founding date.

Sarajevo became known for its large marketplace and numerous mosques, which by the middle of the 16th century numbered more than 100.

At the peak of the empire, Sarajevo was the biggest and most important Ottoman city in the Balkans after Istanbul.

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.

Sarajevo was industrialized by Austria-Hungary, who used the city as a testing area for new inventions such as tramways, which were established in 1885 before they were later installed in Vienna.

Sarajevo has some examples of Secession- and Pseudo-Moorish styles that date from this period.

Architecture in Sarajevo quickly developed into a wide range of styles and buildings.

The Sarajevo Haggadah was the most important artifact which survived this period, smuggled out of Sarajevo and saved from the Nazis and Ustase by the chief librarian of the National Museum, Dervis Korkut.

On 12 October 1941, a group of 108 notable Bosniak citizens of Sarajevo signed the Resolution of Sarajevo Muslims by which they condemned the Genocide of Serbs organized by the Ustase, made a distinction between the Bosniaks who participated in such persecutions and the rest of the Bosniak population, presented information about the persecutions of Bosniaks by Serbs, and requested security for all citizens of the country, regardless of their identity.

Sarajevo grew rapidly as it became an important regional industrial center in Yugoslavia.

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.

Sarajevo is home to the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the operational command of the Armed Forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Sarajevo's Municipalities are further split into "local communities" .

Companies based in Sarajevo include BH Telecom, Bosnalijek, Energopetrol, Sarajevo Tobacco Factory, and Sarajevska pivara .

Sarajevo has a wide tourist industry and a fast expanding service sector thanks to the strong annual growth in tourist arrivals.

Sarajevo has hosted travellers for centuries, because it was an important trading center during the Ottoman and Austro-Hungarian empires and because it was a natural stop for many routes between East and West.

Examples of popular destinations in Sarajevo include the Vrelo Bosne park, the Sarajevo cathedral, and the Gazi Husrev-beg Mosque.

Tourism in Sarajevo is chiefly focused on historical, religious, cultural sites and winter sports.

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Tourists from Central Europe and elsewhere visiting Dalmatia driving via Budapest through Sarajevo contribute to the traffic congestion in and around Sarajevo.

The trans-European highway, Corridor Vc, runs through Sarajevo connecting it to Budapest in the north, and Ploce at the Adriatic sea in the south.

Sarajevo had the first full-time tram line in Europe, and the second in the world.

Sarajevo is undergoing a major infrastructure renewal; many highways and streets are being repaved, the tram system is undergoing modernization, and new bridges and roads are under construction.

Sarajevo has daily international connections which twice a day connect the city with Zagreb and Ploce.

Sarajevo Airport opened on 2 June 1969 for domestic traffic.

Sarajevo has been home to many different religions for centuries, giving the city a range of diverse cultures.

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 the Bosnia and Herzegovina Commission to Preserve National Monuments.

Sarajevo is and has historically been one of the most important musical enclaves in the region.

Sarajevo was the home and birthplace of arguably the most popular and influential Yugoslav rock band of all time, Bijelo Dugme, somewhat of a Bosnian parallel to the Rolling Stones, in both popularity and influence.

Besides and separately from the New Primitives, Sarajevo is the hometown to one of the most significant ex-Yugoslavian alternative industrial-noise bands, SCH.

Sarajevo greatly influenced the pop scene of Yugoslavia with musicians like Zdravko Colic, Kemal Monteno, Dino Merlin, Seid Memic Vajta, Hari Mata Hari, Mladen Vojicic Tifa, Zeljko Bebek and many more.

Many newer Sarajevo-based bands have found a name and established themselves in Sarajevo, such as Regina who had two albums out in Yugoslavia and Letu Stuke, who actually formed their band in Yugoslavia with the famous Bosnian-American writer Aleksandar Hemon and got their real breakthrough later in the 2000s.

Sarajevo is home to an important and eclectic mix of new bands and independent musicians, which continue to thrive with the ever-increasing number of festivals, creative showcases and concerts around the country.

Sarajevo is internationally renowned for its eclectic and diverse selection of over 50 annual festivals.

Jazz Fest Sarajevo is the region's largest and most diverse of its kind.

In 2011, Sarajevo was the host city of the 51st World Military Skiing Championship with over 350 participants from 23 different nations.

The chess club, Bosna Sarajevo, has been a championship team since the 1980s and is the third-ranked chess club in Europe, having won four consecutive European championships in the nineties.

Sarajevo often holds international events and competitions in sports such as tennis and kickboxing.