Remembering the Siege of Sarajevo - 1425 Days of Horror in the Bosnian Capital (with Funky Tours)

Are there any reminders of the siege today? Yes, join me on an exploration with Funky Tours Sarajevo. Discover what happened (and where) in the legendary Siege of Sarajevo.

Between April 1992 and February 1996 Sarajevo suffered the longest siege of a capital city in modern warfare. It is hard to believe when you walk the sunny streets these days with one of the city's famous ice creams.

The siege lasted 1425 days. Despite a lack of heavy weapons or armour Bosnian government defence forces and ordinary civilians refused to surrender to the besieging Serb forces who controlled the hills that surround the city. It’s estimated that almost 14,000 people were killed during the years of the siege. Over 10,000 apartments were destroyed and Bosnian cultural heritage was also deliberately targeted in the bombing of the University Library. Everything and everyone was a target.

Many of the snipers’s positions were up here. In the film I visit Sarajevo’s Jewish cemetery, the largest in south east Europe. During the war it was on the front line. Walking around these ancient stones would have meant certain death.

The destruction of Sarajevo occurred only 8 years after the 1984 winter olympics had announced the city's arrival onto the global arena.

Many of the children that had celebrated the olympics now found themselves living in a nightmare. A memorial to the children who lost their lives now stands in a city centre park. UNICEF estimated that at least 40% of children in the city had been directly shot at by snipers. The Museum of War Childhood curates the memories of those who grew up in those years, alongside newer stories from children in Ukraine and Gaza. It’s a place of sadness and hope.

The solution was a 340 m life-line tunnel under the airport that was dug by hand. On the city side it began under an apartment block and on the north side it began at the unassuming house of the Kolar family. The tunnel is now the city's most popular tourist attraction. In Sarajevo’s historic coppersmiths quarter, the siege is being up-cycled in very creative ways. A difficult past is being repackaged for tourists.

Sarajevo’s main market was hit by mortar shells on 28 August 1995 killing 43 people. It was not the first massacre at the market but this event finally prompted NATO to strike Serb positions. Less than 3 months later the war ended with the signing of the Dayton Accord in 21 November 1995.

Sarajevo has enjoyed peace since 1995, but that peace cannot be taken for granted.


Filmed May 2024
Jonathan Wheeler
Travel obscurer
‪@TravelObscurer‬
Music licenced through Artist
Extra footage licensed through Envato
#sarajevo #sarajevobosnia #sarajevosiege #bosnianwar