Thirty-four years since Sarajevo City Hall fire destroyed its priceless library collection

During the siege of Sarajevo, City Hall was hit by artillery shells fired from positions of the Army of Republika Srpska in the hills surrounding the city.

The ensuing fire almost completely destroyed the building’s interior and most of its library collection.

UNESCO states that the National and University Library of Bosnia and Herzegovina was deliberately destroyed that night by shelling from positions in the hills around Sarajevo.

According to Sarajevo City Hall, around 80 percent of the library’s entire collection was destroyed, amounting to approximately two million books, articles and journals. Numerous rare manuscripts, old books, periodicals, archival materials and documents that bore witness to Bosnia and Herzegovina’s centuries-old history and cultural diversity were also lost.

The fire also destroyed the catalogue of the National and University Library of Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as a large part of its periodical collection, which had been accumulated since the opening of Sarajevo’s first printing press in the 19th century.

Among the lost holdings were manuscripts and works produced in various languages and scripts, representing a unique record of Bosnia and Herzegovina’s multicultural, multiethnic and multiconfessional character.

As the building burned, library staff, firefighters and Sarajevo residents tried to save books and other materials from the flames, putting their own lives at risk. Their efforts saved part of the collection and also helped preserve the building’s exterior structure, which later made its reconstruction possible.

City Hall, one of Sarajevo’s most recognizable landmarks, was opened on April 20, 1896, and initially served as the seat of the city administration. Built in the pseudo-Moorish style, it was designed and constructed with the involvement of architects Karel Pařík, Alexander Wittek and Ciril Ivekovic.

After World War II, its purpose was changed, and the National and University Library of Bosnia and Herzegovina was moved into City Hall in 1951. For the next four decades, the building was one of the country’s most important centers of scientific, educational and cultural life.

The shelling in August 1992 left City Hall in ruins. Its wooden intermediate floor structures were destroyed, the steel dome above the central hall was severely damaged, stone staircases and decorative railings were lost, while the walls and numerous architectural elements sustained extensive damage.

The reconstruction of City Hall began in 1996 and lasted almost two decades. The building was restored in accordance with the original plans and documentation, and the reconstructed City Hall was officially reopened on May 9, 2014, Europe Day and Victory Day over Fascism.

Today, City Hall once again stands as one of Sarajevo’s most significant landmarks. It hosts sessions of the City Council, state and municipal ceremonies, exhibitions, concerts and other cultural events, while part of the building is dedicated to permanent and temporary museum exhibitions.

Although the building was restored, the library treasures lost on the night of August 25–26, 1992, could never be replaced.

Photographs of City Hall engulfed in flames and of Sarajevo residents trying to rescue books from the burning building remain among the most powerful testimonies to the destruction of cultural heritage during the siege of Sarajevo. Following its reconstruction, City Hall has also become a symbol of the city’s survival and renewal.