Downstairs is an exhibition on the history of Bosnia and Herzegovina from the earliest recorded mentions through to the Communist era but it is the upstairs that is most likely to attract and repel, move and educate the visitor to Sarajevo.
Here, in a non-partisan or judgemental fashion, the story of the siege is told through photographs and artefacts, from hand-made heating, cooking and fighting implements to aid items that came in from abroad. Most harrowing perhaps are the images of and by children, trying to live a normal childhood in the most abnormal of conditions - few visitors could fail to be moved by the bloodstained school satchels and workbooks that are the legacy of a shell-strike on a lesson in progress.
Like many cultural institutions in BiH the museum struggles for funds so the modest 4 KM entry fee you pay will do a little to help and in return provide an experience you are not likely to forget.
Permanent Exhibits: 'Sarajevo under Siege, B&H Through Centuries'.
4 KM
Historical Museum of BiH comments Add Yours
YOUR COMMENTS
Open:
Tue-Fri 09:00-16:00, Sat-Sun 09:00-13:00, closed MonAddress:
Zmaja od Bosne 5Phone/Fax:
(+387) 33 21 04 18fax:(+387) 33 21 04 16
Articles online say this museum closed on 4th Jan 2012. Has it reopened? Did the last two commenters visit it after that date? I saw the museum in 2007 and am now thinking of going back to Sarajevo for the summer to share the experience with other friends. It pains me to see it may be closing!
This is a not-to-be-missed museum for visitors to Sarajevo. We were struck by the fairness and objectivity of the presentation. And saddened to think that one group of human beings could commit such atrocities on another. The section on schoolchildren was particularly moving. I feel blessed to come from a peace-loving nation and my heart goes out to the Sarajevans who suffered so terribly during the siege.
The exhibit on the siege is made up of photographs and items brought in by people rather than found and collected by the museum. Seeing it is an unimaginably moving experience and is one that is fundamental to any small undertsanding of Sarajevo.