In the city of Sarajevo, capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina.jpg

 "Sarajevo is a city of resistance and human courage. My heart is with you. It has always been with you." -- Christiane Amanpour

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(in the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina.) The city of Sarajevo lies in the valley of the Miljacka River at the foot of Mount Trebević. The declining Ottoman Empire made Sarajevo the administrative seat of Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1850. When the Austro-Hungarian Empire ousted the Turks in 1878, Sarajevo was largely modernized in the following decades. It also became the center of the Bosnian Serbs’ resistance movement, the Mlada Bosna, whose resentment of Austrian rule culminated on June 28, 1914, when a Bosnian Serb, Gavrilo Princip, assassinated the Austrian heir apparent, Archduke Franz Ferdinand, and his wife. The Austro-Hungarian government used this incident as a pretext for mobilizing against Serbia, thus precipitating World War I. In November 1918 the Diet of Sarajevo proclaimed union within Yugoslavia. After World War II, Sarajevo rapidly repaired the considerable war damage. After Bosnia and Herzegovina declared independence in 1992, Sarajevo suffered considerable damage. Today, Sarajevo is the center of a road network and has a rail connection to the Adriatic.Nestled among dramatic peaks, is again a bustling and welcoming city. War took its toll, with the 1992-1996 siege hitting hard. But the lively, diverse, museum-rich city has been almost entirely reconstructed. Don't miss Bijambare caves, set in thick forests and amid lakes to the north of the city, or Bosna Springs, from which the country takes its name. Site of 1984's Winter Olympics, Sarajevo offers spectacular skiing on Mount Bjelasnica Jahorina. Ringed by the mountains, Sarajevo is a singular city with an enticing East-meets-West vibe all of its own. It was once renowned as a religious melting pot, earning it the epithet "the Jerusalem of Europe." Within a few blocks you can still find large Catholic and Orthodox cathedrals, Ashkenazi and Sephardic synagogues, and many mosques. Since the Jewish population was decimated during WWII, Sarajevo is now a divided city, with most of the Orthodox Christians living in Istočno Sarajevo (East Sarajevo) on the Republika Srpska side.

+ During the 20th century, two violent events thrust Sarajevo into the world's consciousness: the assassination which sparked WWI, and the brutal, almost-four-year siege of the city in the 1990s. The scars of the longest siege in modern European history are still painfully visible, yet Sarajevo is once again a wonderful place to visit – for its intriguing architectural medley, vibrant street life and irrepressible spirit.
+ Featured here is the Baščaršija area in Sarajevo; centered on what foreigners call Pigeon Square, with its ornate gazebo-like Sebilj drinking fountain (built in 1891), Baščaršija is the very heart of old Sarajevo. (The Sarajevo Winter Festival, a cultural festival held annually since the winter of 1984-1985, is centered here.)