Sarajevo City Hall ( Bosnian, Croatian and Serbian: Gradska vijećnica Sarajevo / Градска вијећница Сарајево), known as Vijećnica (Вијећница), is located in the city of

Sarajevo Sarajevo ( ), ; ''see Names of European cities in different languages (Q–T)#S, names in other languages'' is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Bosnia and Herzegovina, largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a population of 2 ...

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina, sometimes known as Bosnia-Herzegovina and informally as Bosnia, is a country in Southeast Europe. Situated on the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula, it borders Serbia to the east, Montenegro to the southeast, and Croatia to th ...

. It was designed in 1891 by the Czech architect Karel Pařík, but criticisms by the minister, Baron

Béni Kállay Béni Kállay de Nagy-Kálló or Benjamin von Kállay (; – ) was an Austro-Hungarian statesman and a Hungarian nobility, Hungarian nobleman. Early life Kállay was born in Pest (today part of Budapest). His family derived their name from t ...

, caused him to stop working on the project. It was initially the largest and most representative building of the Austro-Hungarian period in Sarajevo and served as the

city hall In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or municipal hall (in the Philippines) is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses the city o ...

. The building was reopened on July 17th, 2014. It is the current

seat A seat is a place to sit. The term may encompass additional features, such as back, armrest, head restraint but may also refer to concentrations of power in a wider sense (i.e " seat (legal entity)"). See disambiguation. Types of seat The ...

and headquarters of the Mayor of Sarajevo, as well as the Sarajevo City Council.

History

Alexander Wittek, who worked on the project in 1892 and 1893, fell ill and died in 1894 in

Graz Graz () is the capital of the Austrian Federal states of Austria, federal state of Styria and the List of cities and towns in Austria, second-largest city in Austria, after Vienna. On 1 January 2025, Graz had a population of 306,068 (343,461 inc ...

, and the work was completed by Ćiril Iveković. The edifice was built in a stylistic blend of historical eclecticism, predominantly in the pseudo-Moorish, also known as Moorish Revival, expression, for which the stylistic sources were found in the

Islamic art Islamic art is a part of Islamic culture and encompasses the visual arts produced since the 7th century CE by people who lived within territories inhabited or ruled by Muslims, Muslim populations. Referring to characteristic traditions across ...

of Spain and North Africa. Building works began in 1892 and were completed in 1894, at a cost of 984,000 crowns, with 32,000 crowns provided for fixtures and fittings. It was formally opened 20 April 1896, and handed over to the City Authority.

Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria Archduke Franz Ferdinand Carl Ludwig Joseph Maria of Austria (18 December 1863 – 28 June 1914) was the heir presumptive to the throne of Austria-Hungary. His Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, assassination in Sarajevo was the ...

and his wife Sophie, Duchess of Hohenberg attended a reception at the town hall on Sunday 28 June 1914. Following the reception they left in a motorcade and were both fatally shot near the Latin Bridge by

Gavrilo Princip Gavrilo Princip ( sr-Cyrl, Гаврило Принцип, ; 25 July 189428 April 1918) was a Bosnian Serb student who assassinated Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir presumptive to the throne of Austria-Hungary, and his wife Sophie, Duchess von ...

. In 1949 it was handed over to the National and University Library of Bosnia and Herzegovina. On 25 August 1992, Serb shelling during the

Siege of Sarajevo The siege of Sarajevo () was a prolonged military blockade of Sarajevo, the capital of Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, during the ethnically charged Bosnian War. After it was initially besieged by Serbian forces of the Yugoslav People's Arm ...

caused the complete destruction of the library; among the losses were about 700 manuscripts and

incunabula An incunable or incunabulum (: incunables or incunabula, respectively) is a book, pamphlet, or broadside (printing), broadside that was printed in the earliest stages of printing in Europe, up to the year 1500. The specific date is essentiall ...

and a unique collection of Bosnian serial publications, some from the middle of the 19th century Bosnian cultural revival. Before the attack, the library held 1.5 million volumes and over 155,000 rare books and manuscripts. Some citizens and librarians tried to save some books while they were under sniper fire, at least one person died. The majority of the books were not saved from the flames. Evstafiev-bosnia-cello

Renewal

The structural repair of the building was planned to be carried out in four stages: 1996 and 1997 (financed by a donation from the

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

n state), and 2000 through 2004 (financed by a donation from the

European Commission The European Commission (EC) is the primary Executive (government), executive arm of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with a number of European Commissioner, members of the Commission (directorial system, informall ...

), and the city of Barcelona among others. The third stage ended in September 2012, with an estimated cost of KM 4.6 million (about

€ The euro sign () is the currency sign used for the euro, the official currency of the eurozone. The design was presented to the public by the European Commission on 12 December 1996. It consists of a stylized letter E (or epsilon), crossed by t ...

2.37 million) and returned the city hall to its former grace. The fourth stage began following the completion of the third stage and lasted about 20 months, finishing at the end of 2013 and cost of KM 14 million (about €7.23 million) which are secured through the IPA. In this stage the entire interior of the building was rebuilt and reconstructed (paintings, sculptures, books), resulting in the library being brought back to its pre-war condition. Everything that was possible to restore has been done so, while those things that were not possible to save have been made anew through special molds. The whole reconstruction and restoration process was predicted to cost about KM 25 million (about €13 million). After it was repaired, the building, now a

national monument A national monument is a monument constructed in order to commemorate something of importance to national heritage, such as a country's founding, independence, war, or the life and death of a historical figure. The term may also refer to a sp ...

, has been used for variety of events. Its space has been be used for various protocol events for all levels of government, concerts and exhibitions.

Delayed opening

After years of restoration, the building was intended to initially reopen on 9 May 2014, with the performance of the Sarajevo Philharmonic Orchestra and

Vedran Smailović Vedran Smailović (born 11 November 1956), known as the "''Cellist of Sarajevo''", is a Bosnian musician. During the siege of Sarajevo, he played Albinoni's '' Adagio in G Minor'' in ruined buildings, and, often under the threat of snipers, he ...

, as well as a 3D projection video mapping by Knap Studio Sarajevo. However, soon after, the opening to the general public was delayed to June 28, 2014 due to further work needed as well as in hopes of commemorating the 100th anniversary of the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. After the commemoration, the opening was delayed once again and the building was finally reopen to the general public on July 17, 2014. The delayed opening is believed to be attributed to legal issues as well as the bureaucratization attempt by NUBBiH.

Legacy

In 2022, it was the subject of a stop-motion animated film directed by artist Nicholas F. Callaway, through the research project Imaneo, with funding from

Creative Europe Creative Europe is a European Union programme for the cultural and creative sectors. In its first phase, going from 2014 to 2020, it had a budget of € 1.47 billion, which were expanded to € 2.44 billion in its second phase (2021-2027). His ...

Gallery

References

External links

* * * - UDK 930.25:355.4](497.6)"1992/1995" - god. 42(1999), str. 223-230 {{DEFAULTSORT:Vijecnica Culture of Bosnia and Herzegovina Buildings and structures in Sarajevo Moorish Revival architecture in Bosnia and Herzegovina Rebuilt buildings and structures in Bosnia and Herzegovina National Monuments of Bosnia and Herzegovina Seats of local government Book burnings Siege of Sarajevo Buildings and structures demolished in 1992 Stari Grad, Sarajevo