Sarajevo

Sarajevo
Сарајево
  • Grad Sarajevo
  • Град Сарајево
  • City of Sarajevo
Nickname(s): 
"Jerusalem of Europe",[1] "Jerusalem of the Balkans",[2] "Šeher, Rajvosa"[3]
Map
Interactive map outlining Sarajevo
Sarajevo is located in Bosnia and Herzegovina
Sarajevo
Sarajevo
Location within Bosnia and Herzegovina
Sarajevo is located in Balkans
Sarajevo
Sarajevo
Location within Europe
Sarajevo is located in Europe
Sarajevo
Sarajevo
Sarajevo (Europe)
Coordinates: 43°51′23″N 18°24′47″E / 43.85639°N 18.41306°E / 43.85639; 18.41306
Country Bosnia and Herzegovina
EntityFederation of Bosnia and Herzegovina
Canton Sarajevo Canton
Municipalities:4
Founded1461
Government
 • BodySarajevo City Council
 • MayorTBD
Area
141.5 km2 (54.6 sq mi)
 • Urban
419.16 km2 (161.84 sq mi)
 • Metro
3,350 km2 (1,290 sq mi)
Elevation
550 m (1,800 ft)
Population
 (2013 census)[4]
275,524
 • Density1,900/km2 (5,000/sq mi)
 • Urban
419,957
 • Urban density1,000/km2 (2,600/sq mi)
 • Metro
555,210
 • Metro density170/km2 (430/sq mi)
 • Demonym
  • Sarajevan (English)
  • Sarajlija (Bosnian)
Time zoneUTC+1 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+2 (CEST)
Postal code
71000
Area code+387 33
Websitesarajevo.ba

Sarajevo (/ˌsærəˈjv/ SARR-ə-YAY-voh)[5] is the capital[6] and largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a population of 275,524 in its administrative limits.[7][4] The Sarajevo metropolitan area including Sarajevo Canton, East Sarajevo and nearby municipalities is home to 555,210 inhabitants.[a][4] Located within the greater Sarajevo valley of Bosnia, it is surrounded by the Dinaric Alps and situated along the Miljacka River in the heart of the Balkans, a region of Southeastern Europe.

Sarajevo is the political, financial, social, and cultural center of Bosnia and Herzegovina and a prominent center of culture in the Balkans. It exerts region-wide influence in entertainment, media, fashion, and the arts.[8][9] Due to its long history of religious and cultural diversity, Sarajevo is sometimes called the "Jerusalem of Europe"[1] or "Jerusalem of the Balkans".[2] It is one of a few major European cities to have a mosque, Catholic church, Eastern Orthodox church, and synagogue within the same neighborhood.[10] It is also home to the former Yugoslavia's first institution of tertiary education in the form of an Islamic polytechnic, today part of the University of Sarajevo.[11][12]

Although there is evidence of human settlement in the area since prehistoric times, the modern city arose in the 15th century as an Ottoman stronghold when the Ottoman empire extended into Europe.[13] Sarajevo has gained international renown several times throughout its history. In 1885, it was the first city in Europe and the second city in the world to have a full-time electric tram network running through the city, following San Francisco.[14]

In 1914, Sarajevo was the site of the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand by a local Young Bosnia activist Gavrilo Princip, a murder that sparked World War I. This resulted in the end of Austro-Hungarian rule in Bosnia and the creation of the multicultural Kingdom of Yugoslavia in the Balkan region. Later, after World War II, the area was designated the capital of the communist Socialist Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina within the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, leading to rapid expansion of its population and businesses with investment in infrastructure and economic development.

In 1984, Sarajevo hosted the 1984 Winter Olympics, which marked a prosperous era for the city. However, after the start of the Yugoslav Wars, the city suffered the longest siege of a capital city in the history of modern warfare, for a total of 1,425 days, from April 1992 to February 1996, during the Bosnian War.

With continued post-war reconstruction in the aftermath, Sarajevo is the fastest growing city in Bosnia and Herzegovina.[15] The travel guide series Lonely Planet ranked Sarajevo as the 43rd best city in the world.[16] In December 2009, it recommended Sarajevo as one of the top ten cities to visit in 2010.[17]

In 2011, Sarajevo was nominated as the 2014 European Capital of Culture. It was selected to host the European Youth Olympic Festival.[18][19] In addition, in October 2019, Sarajevo was designated as a UNESCO Creative City for having placed culture at the center of its development strategies.[20][21] It is also ranked as one of the world's eighteen Cities of Film.[22]

  1. ^ a b Stilinovic, Josip (3 January 2002). "In Europe's Jerusalem" Archived 29 June 2017 at the Wayback Machine, Catholic World News. The city's principal mosques are the Gazi Husrev-Bey's Mosque, or Begova Džamija (1530), and the Mosque of Ali Pasha (1560–61). Retrieved on 5 August 2006.
  2. ^ a b Benbassa, Esther; Attias, Jean-Christophe (2004). The Jews and their Future: A Conversation on Judaism and Jewish Identities. London: Zed Books. p. 27. ISBN 978-1-84277-391-8. Sarajevo.
  3. ^ "Visit Sarajevo: A Brief History of the City". Visit Sarajevo. Archived from the original on 23 August 2011. Retrieved 28 March 2012.
  4. ^ a b c "Census of Population, Households and Dwellings in Bosnia and Herzegovina: Final Results" (PDF). Agencija za statistiku Bosne i Hercegovine. 2013. Archived (PDF) from the original on 14 October 2017. Retrieved 28 July 2021.
  5. ^ Cyrillic: Сарајево, pronounced [sǎrajeʋo] ; see names in other languages
  6. ^ "The World Factbook". 6 September 2015. Archived from the original on 10 February 2022. Retrieved 29 April 2022.
  7. ^ Toe, Rodolfo (1 July 2016). "Census Results Highlight Impact of Bosnian War". Balkan Transitional Justice. Balkan Investigative Reporting Network. Archived from the original on 15 October 2017. Retrieved 14 October 2017.
  8. ^ "Sarajevo: The economic, administrative, cultural and educational center of Bosnia and Herzegovina". Mediterranea News. 12 May 2011. Archived from the original on 24 April 2012. Retrieved 5 April 2012.
  9. ^ daenet d.o.o. "Sarajevo Official Web Site : Economy". Sarajevo.ba. Archived from the original on 1 April 2012. Retrieved 5 April 2012.
  10. ^ Malcolm, Noel (1996). Bosnia: A Short History (Paperback ed.). London: NYU Press. pp. 107, 364. ISBN 978-0-8147-5561-7.
  11. ^ Agency, Anadolu. "Saraybosna'da 476 yıldır yaşayan medrese! (Sarajevo Celebrates 476 Years of its Medresa!)". Haber7. Retrieved 11 November 2013.
  12. ^ "Things to do in Sarajevo". Gezip Gördüm. Retrieved 11 November 2013.
  13. ^ Valerijan et al. 1997.
  14. ^ Lonely Planet: Best Cities in the World. Lonely Planet. 2006. ISBN 978-1-74104-731-8.
  15. ^ Kelley, Steve. "Rising Sarajevo finds hope again" Archived 16 January 2008 at the Wayback Machine, The Seattle Times. Retrieved on 19 August 2006.
  16. ^ Lonely Planet (March 2006). The Cities Book: A Journey Through The Best Cities in the World, Lonely Planet Publications, ISBN 1-74104-731-5.
  17. ^ "Lonely Planet's Top 10 Cities 2010 | Lonely Planet's Top 10 Cities 2010". News.com.au. Archived from the original on 10 October 2010. Retrieved 19 January 2010.
  18. ^ "Nomination of Sarajevo for European Capital of Culture 2014". BH-News.com. Archived from the original on 24 January 2021. Retrieved 15 September 2011.
  19. ^ "Sarajevo: With Sarajevo as Europe's Capital of Culture 2014 we could send an... – 12/05/2011 – EPP Group". Group of the European People's Party (Christian Democrats) in the European Parliament. Archived from the original on 2 August 2018. Retrieved 15 September 2011.
  20. ^ "UNESCO celebrates World Cities Day designating 66 new Creative Cities". UNESCO. 30 October 2019. Archived from the original on 31 October 2019. Retrieved 31 October 2019.
  21. ^ "UNESCO designates 66 new Creative Cities | Creative Cities Network". en.unesco.org. Archived from the original on 1 February 2021. Retrieved 31 October 2019.
  22. ^ Pender, Eleanor (6 November 2019). "Five new Cities of Film join the Creative Cities Network". UNESCO Cities of Film. Retrieved 1 March 2024.


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