Sarajevo is the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina, sitting in a valley surrounded by towering Dinaric mountains along the banks of the Miljacka River. Known for its multicultural history, it packs mosques, Catholic and Orthodox churches, and a synagogue into a small area — earning it the occasional nickname “the European Jerusalem.”
The city’s historic heart is Baščaršija, the oldest bazaar in the entire Balkans, founded in the 15th century by the Ottoman governor Isa-Beg Ishaković. At the center of its main square stands the wooden, traditionally Ottoman-style Sebilj fountain — local tradition holds that drinking from it guarantees you’ll return to Sarajevo. Nearby stands the Gazi Husrev-beg Mosque, built in the 16th century and the largest mosque in Bosnia and Herzegovina, alongside its neighboring Clock Tower (Sahat Kula), which at 30 meters is the tallest of all Bosnian clock towers and has a unique feature: it keeps lunar time, so its hands point to midnight at the call to Maghrib prayer.
Another major historic landmark is the Latin Bridge, dating to the 16th century and world-famous as the site where Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary and his wife Sophie were assassinated on June 28, 1914, by Bosnian Serb student Gavrilo Princip — an event widely regarded as one of the direct triggers of World War I.
The Tunnel of Hope Museum bears witness to a more recent chapter of the city’s history: from July 1993 until the end of the Siege of Sarajevo in late February 1996, this 800-meter-long, just-over-a-meter-wide tunnel was the besieged city’s only connection to the outside world, carrying food, fuel, and communications through the longest siege of a city in modern history. Part of the tunnel is preserved today as a museum displaying items from the siege period.
This information was verified on August 7, 2026.