Remembering the siege: the back story

About Remembering the siege: the back story

By the ULTIMATE Sarajevo Editorial Team

Many visitors come to Sarajevo wanting to understand the 1990s. The city remembers those years quietly and with dignity, through a few places that tell the story of how ordinary people lived, and survived, during the longest siege of a capital city in modern European history.

The siege

The siege of Sarajevo lasted from April 1992 to February 1996, nearly four years. Around 11,000 people were killed in the city, including many children, and residents lived for years with shelling, sniper fire, and shortages of food, water and electricity.

The Tunnel of Hope

In 1993 a tunnel about 800 metres long was dug under the airport runway, linking the city with free territory at Butmir. It brought in food, fuel and supplies and became a lifeline. Today a short section can be walked at the Tunnel of Hope museum, in the house that hid its entrance.

Sarajevo does not ask you to take sides. It asks you to remember.

The Sarajevo Roses

Where mortar shells hit the pavement and caused deaths, the scars were filled with red resin. Known as Sarajevo Roses, a number remain in the pavements of the centre, including on Ferhadija and near the market.

Childhood in wartime

The War Childhood Museum, in the old town, tells the story through objects and memories donated by people who were children during the siege: diaries, toys, letters. It is moving and universal.

Visiting respectfully

Guided tours explain the history well. Be thoughtful with photographs, avoid stepping on the Roses, and remember that many of the people you meet lived through these years.

Our advice: visit the Tunnel of Hope with a guide or by taxi, combined with the airport if you are flying out; spend an hour at the War Childhood Museum; and look out for the Sarajevo Roses on your walks. Then let the city show you how it lives today.

Opening hours, prices and seasonal openings change, so please check with Remembering the siege: the back story before you go.