Sarajevo - Part 1 • VIARAMI

Sarajevo is the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the largest city in Southeast Europe.

Aerial view of Sarajevo neighborhood with red-roofed houses, white cemetery headstones, and forested mountains

Hillside cityscape with red-tiled roofs and a tall white mosque minaret surrounded by lush green trees

Founded in 1461, the city is located near the geometric centre of the country in the Dinaric Alps. Sarajevo is located on average over 500 meters above sea level in a valley. The venue of the 1984 Winter Olympics is surrounded by five significant mountains, with the highest Treskavica at 2,088 meters, and heavily forested hills.

Muddy brown river flowing through a city between stone embankments with a bridge, tree-lined streets, and hills in the background

The Miljacka river flows through the city. It rises in the small village of Bulozi and is characterised by its brown water.

Historic ornate European building with stone retaining wall along a muddy urban river

Modern dark glass hotel building beside stone river embankment in Sarajevo

Historic stone arch bridge over a muddy river in Sarajevo with a pink museum building and pedestrians

Sarajevo was founded in the 15th century and has an eventful history, both positive and negative. Thus in 1885 Sarajevo was the first city in Europe with an electric tram, which is still an important part of the public transport system, but also 29 years later the scene of the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, which triggered the First World War. In the 1990s Sarajevo itself was the major location of a war.

Pedestrians walking along a sunlit cobblestone shopping street lined with historic stone and brick buildings in Sarajevo

In 1978 Sarajevo was able to beat Sapporo and Gotheburg as host city for the XIV Winter Olympics. In 1984 the first Winter Olympic Games in a socialist state took place. Sarajevo is also the only city with a mainly Muslim population that has so far hosted the Olympic Games.

Crowded wooden fountain with green dome in a bustling Sarajevo square surrounded by pigeons and tourists

Busy pedestrian square in Sarajevo with crowds, pigeons, and a mosque minaret against forested hills

Souvenir shop displaying copper coffee pots, brass trays, and wool textiles along a busy pedestrian street in Sarajevo

Evening street scene in Sarajevo, showing cars parked and driving on a hill with residential buildings and mountains in the background.

Stone minaret and mosque dome rising above red-tiled rooftops in Sarajevo during golden hour

A bustling Bosnian square with a mosque and minaret in the background.

Colorful t-shirts and soccer jerseys hanging at an outdoor street market on a paved pedestrian lane

A souvenir shop overflowing with copperware, mosaic lamps, jewelry, slippers, and handicrafts beneath a striped awning on a cobblestone street

historic stone building with green copper domes and tiled roof in Sarajevo

A narrow cobblestone shopping alley lined with antique stalls and a large reflective wooden shop window on the right

Avaz Twist Tower

The Avaz Twist Tower is a skyscraper near the main railway station of Sarajevo. The twisted design of the tower was designed by Architect Faruk Kapidžić. It was completed within two years after construction began in 2006. Since then the building has served as the headquarters of the Bosnian daily newspaper Dnevni avaz.

With a height of 176 meters, if you count the antenna spire, the tower is the tallest office building in the country and former Yugoslavia. The Avaz Twist Tower has 40 floors with the top floor located 150 meters above the ground.