Sarajevo main railway station ( Bosnian: ''Glavna željeznička stanica u Sarajevu'') is a railway in

Sarajevo Sarajevo ( ; cyrl, Сарајево, ; ''see names in other languages'') is the capital and largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a population of 275,524 in its administrative limits. The Sarajevo metropolitan area including Sarajevo ...

, the capital of

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and H ...

, located in the northwest part of the city, approximately 3 kilometers from the downtown area near city part Marijin Dvor.

History

The railway station was built in 1882 for the narrow gauge railway. Near it, further west of the city were the main railway

depot Depot ( or ) may refer to: Places * Depot, Poland, a village * Depot Island, Kemp Land, Antarctica * Depot Island, Victoria Land, Antarctica * Depot Island Formation, Greenland Brands and enterprises * Maxwell Street Depot, a restaurant in ...

for the whole of Bosnia, where a thousand people were employed at the peak. In September 1941, the transport of the Sarajevo Jews was dispatched from there by the resolution of Ustashe administration. The Jews were transported in wagons for the cattle to a transfer camp in

Travnik Travnik is a town and a municipality in Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is the administrative center of Central Bosnia Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is situated in central Bosnia and Herzegovina, west of Sarajevo. As of 2 ...

. After

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, it was decided to replace the old station by a new functionalist building designed by

Czechoslovak Czechoslovak may refer to: *A demonym or adjective pertaining to Czechoslovakia (1918–93) **First Czechoslovak Republic (1918–38) **Second Czechoslovak Republic (1938–39) **Third Czechoslovak Republic (1948–60) **Fourth Czechoslovak Repub ...

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

s led by Bedřich Hacar. The construction was also supervised by experts from

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. In its time, it was one of the few projects in the city that was not influenced by

socialist realism Socialist realism is a style of idealized realistic art that was developed in the Soviet Union and was the official style in that country between 1932 and 1988, as well as in other socialist countries after World War II. Socialist realism is c ...

. However, due to the political turmoil in

- Yugoslav relations, they could not complete their work. Finally, the

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

n architect Bogdan Stojkov finished the new departure hall. The reasons for the construction of the new railway station were several; the track to Sarajevo was rebuilt to a standard gauge of 1435 mm, longer trains were expected and would be not possible to service them. The ceremonial completion of the station building took place in 1949. The station was electrified in 1967, as part of the early electrification programme introduced in Bosnia up to 1969. The Sarajevo–Ploče railway provides a connection to the Adriatic coast. It holds the distinction of being the first 25 kV AC-electrified country in the former Yugoslavia, followed by Croatia and Serbia (both countries introduced electric trains in 1970). In 1971 the original historic station building was abandoned and pulled down. Railway equipment was damaged between 1992 and 1995, but it was eventually rebuilt in the late 1990s.

Construction

The building has a semi-circular ground plan and is roofed with hyperbolic paraboloid structures. In front of it there is an extensive open-air area and a tramway terminal. The square in front of the station is named after the victims of the

Srebrenica massacre The Srebrenica massacre ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Masakr u Srebrenici, Масакр у Сребреници), also known as the Srebrenica genocide ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Genocid u Srebrenici, Геноцид у Сребрен ...

( bs, Trg žrtava genocida u Srebrenici). Tracks are entering the station from the west and then turning north, after few hundred meters rail line ends since dismantling of narrow-gauge line to Uvac, Rudo close to

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin and the Balkans. It shares land borders with Hungar ...

n borders in 1978.

Gallery

Sarajevo for Visa (34) (5589553321).jpg, View from the Avaz Twist Tower 11.05.11 Sarajevo ŽFBH 441.906 (5806017524).jpg, ŽFBH 441.906 11.05.11 Sarajevo ŽFBH EMU (5806016852).jpg, ŽFBH EMU Peron on railway station Sarajevo.jpg, Platforms Sarajevo Tram-231 Line-1 2011-09-24.JPG, Czechoslovakian

Tatra T3 The T3 is a type of Czech tramcar produced by ČKD Tatra. A late-2000s study conducted on the Prague tram system has shown 98.9% reliability, the best of the Prague tram system fleet. During its period of production between 1960 and 199 ...

tram Sarajevo Tram-707 Line-1 2012-01-17.jpg, Vienna tram type E

References

*R. DONIJA, Robert. ''Sarajevo: biografija grada''. Sarajevo: Izdavač za istoriju, 2006. 462 s. . (Bosnian)

External links

* {{Sarajevo Railway stations in Bosnia and Herzegovina Railway stations opened in 1882 Buildings and structures in Sarajevo