Sarajevo City Hall ( Bosnian, Croatian and

Serbian Serbian may refer to: * someone or something related to Serbia, a country in Southeastern Europe * someone or something related to the Serbs, a South Slavic people * Serbian language * Serbian names See also * * * Old Serbian (disambiguation ...

: Gradska vijećnica Sarajevo / Градска вијећница Сарајево), known as Vijećnica, is located in the city of

Sarajevo Sarajevo ( ; cyrl, Сарајево, ; ''see names in other languages'') is the capital and largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a population of 275,524 in its administrative limits. The Sarajevo metropolitan area including Sarajevo ...

. It was designed in 1891 by the Czech architect

Karel Pařík Karel Pařík (4 July 1857 – 16 June 1942) was a Czech-born architect in the Austro-Hungarian empire. Pařík spent most of his life in Sarajevo where he designed over seventy major buildings, which are today classified among the most beautif ...

, but criticisms by the minister, Baron

Béni Kállay Béni Kállay de Nagy-Kálló or Benjamin von Kállay ( hu, Kállay Benjámin; – ) was an Austro-Hungarian statesman and a Hungarian nobleman. Early life Kállay was born in Pest (today part of Budapest). His family derived their name f ...

, caused him to stop working on the project. It was initially the largest and most representative building of the Austro-Hungarian period in Sarajevo and served as the

city hall In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or a municipal building (in the Philippines), is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses ...

. The building was reopened on 9 May 2014. It is the current

seat A seat is a place to sit. The term may encompass additional features, such as back, armrest, head restraint but also headquarters in a wider sense. Types of seat The following are examples of different kinds of seat: * Armchair, a chair ...

and headquarters of the Mayor of Sarajevo, as well as the Sarajevo City Council.

History

Alexander Wittek Alexander Wittek (12 October 1852, Sisak – 11 May 1894, Graz) was an Austrian-Hungarian architect and chess master. As an architect, Wittek worked in Bosnia and Herzegovina during Austro-Hungarian Empire. His most well-known works in Sarajevo ...

, who worked on the project in 1892 and 1893, fell ill and died in 1894 in

Graz Graz (; sl, Gradec) is the capital city of the Austrian state of Styria and second-largest city in Austria after Vienna. As of 1 January 2021, it had a population of 331,562 (294,236 of whom had principal-residence status). In 2018, the popula ...

, and the work was completed by

Ćiril Iveković Ćiril Metod Iveković (1 November 1864, Klanjec - 15 May 1933, Zagreb) was a Croatian architect and conservator. Biography He was the first of eleven children born to a municipal notary. His younger brother, Oton, was a well known painter. Hi ...

. The edifice was built in a stylistic blend of historical eclecticism, predominantly in the

pseudo-Moorish Moorish Revival or Neo-Moorish is one of the exotic revival architectural styles that were adopted by architects of Europe and the Americas in the wake of Romanticist Orientalism. It reached the height of its popularity after the mid-19th centur ...

expression, for which the stylistic sources were found in the

Islamic art Islamic art is a part of Islamic culture and encompasses the visual arts produced since the 7th century CE by people who lived within territories inhabited or ruled by Muslim populations. Referring to characteristic traditions across a wide ra ...

of Spain and North Africa. Building works began in 1892 and were completed in 1894, at a cost of 984,000 crowns, with 32,000 crowns provided for fixtures and fittings. It was formally opened 20 April 1896, and handed over to the City Authority, which occupied the property until 1949, when it was handed over to the

National and University Library of Bosnia and Herzegovina The National and University Library of Bosnia and Herzegovina (NUL) ( Bosnian, Croatian and Serbian: ''Nacionalna i univerzitetska biblioteka Bosne i Hercegovine'' / Национална и универзитетска библиотека Бо� ...

. On 25 August 1992, Serbian shelling during the

Siege of Sarajevo The Siege of Sarajevo ( sh, Opsada Sarajeva) was a prolonged blockade of Sarajevo, the capital of Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bosnia and Herzegovina, during the Bosnian War. After it was initially besieged by the forces of the Yugoslav ...

caused the complete destruction of the library; among the losses were about 700 manuscripts and

incunabula In the history of printing, an incunable or incunabulum (plural incunables or incunabula, respectively), is a book, pamphlet, or broadside that was printed in the earliest stages of printing in Europe, up to the year 1500. Incunabula were pro ...

and a unique collection of Bosnian serial publications, some from the middle of the 19th century Bosnian cultural revival. Before the attack, the library held 1.5 million volumes and over 155,000 rare books and manuscripts. Some citizens and librarians tried to save some books while they were under sniper fire, at least one person died. Evstafiev-bosnia-cello

The majority of the books could not be saved from the flames. The structural repair of the building was planned to be carried out in four stages: 1996–1997 (financed by a donation from

Republic of Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine States of Austria, states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, th ...

), and 2000–2004 (financed by a donation from the

European Commission The European Commission (EC) is the executive of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with 27 members of the Commission (informally known as "Commissioners") headed by a President. It includes an administrative body ...

), and the city of Barcelona among others. The third stage ended in September 2012, with an estimated cost of KM 4.6 million (about

€ The euro sign () is the currency sign used for the euro, the official currency of the eurozone and unilaterally adopted by Kosovo and Montenegro. The design was presented to the public by the European Commission on 12 December 1996. It consists o ...

2.37 million) and will return the city hall to its former grace. The fourth stage began following the completion of the third stage and lasted about 20 months, finishing at the end of 2013 and cost of KM 14 million (about €7.23 million) which are secured through the

IPA IPA commonly refers to: * India pale ale, a style of beer * International Phonetic Alphabet, a system of phonetic notation * Isopropyl alcohol, a chemical compound IPA may also refer to: Organizations International * Insolvency Practitioners A ...

. In this stage the entire interior of the building was rebuilt and reconstructed (paintings, sculptures, books), resulting in the library being brought back to its pre-war condition. Everything that was possible to restore has been done so, while those things that were not possible to save have been made anew through special molds. The whole reconstruction and restoration process was predicted to cost about KM 25 million (about €13 million). After it was repaired, the building, now a

national monument A national monument is a monument constructed in order to commemorate something of importance to national heritage, such as a country's founding, independence, war, or the life and death of a historical figure. The term may also refer to a spe ...

, has been used for variety of events. Its space has been be used for various protocol events for all levels of government, concerts and exhibitions.

Renewal

After years of restoration, the building was reopened on 9 May 2014, with the performance of the Sarajevo Philharmonic Orchestra and Vedran Smailović, as well as a 3D projection video mapping by Knap Studio Sarajevo. In 2022 it was the subject of a stop-motion animated film directed by artist Nicholas F. Callaway, through the research project Imaneo, with funding from Creative Europe.

References

External links

* * * - UDK 930.25:355.4](497.6)"1992/1995" - god. 42(1999), str. 223-230 {{DEFAULTSORT:Vijecnica Bosnia and Herzegovina culture Buildings and structures in Sarajevo Moorish Revival architecture in Bosnia and Herzegovina Rebuilt buildings and structures in Bosnia and Herzegovina National Monuments of Bosnia and Herzegovina Seats of local government Book burnings Siege of Sarajevo Buildings and structures demolished in 1992 Stari Grad, Sarajevo