Sarajevo's City Hall Burned Down 31 Years Ago

(Patria) - Sarajevo's City Hall, a symbol of the city and one of the most representative and beautiful buildings from the Austro-Hungarian period, was shelled multiple times during the siege of Sarajevo, and on August 25, 1992, shells fired from the positions of the Army of Republika Srpska caused a large fire in which the interior of the building completely burned down.

The City Hall, which before the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina was the National and University Library of Bosnia and Herzegovina (NUBBiH) and which represented a gathering place for students and all knowledge-seekers, burned down on that August 25 in just a few hours, and with it, the written treasures of Bosnia and Herzegovina were irretrievably destroyed.

Almost 80 percent of the library's collection, two million books, magazines, and manuscripts of inestimable value testifying to the history of Bosnia and Herzegovina, burned in the fire.

Although citizens and employees tried to save a certain part of the collection, the fire that engulfed the City Hall was almost impossible to control, and the constant sniper fire from the positions of the Army of Republika Srpska on the hills around Sarajevo presented an additional problem.

August 25, 1992, represented one of the most emotionally difficult days for all residents of Sarajevo, as well as for all people for whom the City Hall represented a symbol of the city and a kind of center of knowledge.

Thanks to the understanding and solidarity of friends and partners, the City Hall was renovated and officially opened on May 9, 2014, on Europe Day and Victory over Fascism Day.

Its post-war renovation lasted 18 years, for this world symbol of the meeting of civilizations to rise from the ashes, stand proudly, in its authentic opulent form. It was also a victory for the city of Sarajevo and the state of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

It now houses books and manuscripts of exceptional value and rarities, and it represents a multimedia center of culture, art, and economy of the City of Sarajevo and the state of BiH, where concerts, literary evenings, exhibitions, presentations, conferences, congresses, symposia, receptions, anniversaries, and weddings are held.

In 2006, the Commission for the Preservation of National Monuments of BiH declared the City Hall a national monument of Bosnia and Herzegovina.