The Museum of Sarajevo

THE GUARDIAN OF HISTORY

The Museum’s holdings consist of the following collections: archaeology, ethnology, oriental, Austro-Hungarian, 20th century, art and Jewish collections, the collection of the well-known collector Stjepan Meze, and ancillary items.

The Museum of Sarajevo was founded in 1949 as the Museum of the City of Sarajevo and was based in the City Hall. Over the years the museum outgrew its original premises, and consequently the city authorities allocated the Shari’a Judges’ School, to the museum, which occupied the building until 1992, when it was restored to its rightful owner. The building belonged in fact to the Islamic community. It was at this very time that the aggression against Bosnia and Herzegovina, the siege of the city and the attacks against civilians and civilian property were launched. The Museum staff braved the shelling to pack up their collections and transfer them to the old Jewish Synagogue, one of the Museum’s annexes. The artifacts were thus thankfully saved, since the synagogue sustained no direct hits and suffered no serious damage during the war.

Between the end of the siege in 1995 and December 2007, the Museum of Sarajevo reopened its permanent exhibit on the history of the city in new premises assigned to it by the Government of Sarajevo Canton and its four annexes. The latter’s permanent collections as well as the artifacts of the Alija Izetbegović Museum became part of the museum’s collection. The new administrative structure at the city level led to the City Museum being renamed the Museum of Sarajevo.

In short, visitors should know that the Museum of Sarajevo therefore consists of several collections located in various buildings.

The rest of the article you can read in the magazine.