As Sarajevo is a rather small city with its main attractions located within walking distance of each other, I passed by some sites quite often. The structure that most impressed me was the City Hall. Taking up a small city block and several stories high, the City Hall is the biggest and most representative building from Sarajevo's Austro-Hungarian period. Sadly, it fell victim during the civil war and was burned down in August 1992. Despite the boarded up windows, decaying façade and other signs of the tragedy, the building still commands passers-by to take notice.
Intended to be designed in a pseudo-Moorish style, the original architect visited Cairo twice to study buildings constructed in
this style. Completed in 1894, the building remained as City Hall until 1949, when it was given to the National and University Library. Residents of Sarajevo I spoke to mourned the loss of so many important books and records contained inside during the fire of 1992.
The building has a triangular foundation with a six-angled center. A beautiful glass dome curves gently upward, rebuilt with Austrian donations. The façade is richly ornamented with Arabic delicate geometric designs and archways, and is
trimmed near the top with sculptural scalloped layers. The golden late afternoon sun allowed the remaining portions of the original ochre surface and terra-cotta horizontal stripes to glow.
According to the official Sarajevo Web Site, there were painted decorations in the main stairway, main auditorium, doorway, and central hall. Stained glass showca
ses with decorative floral patterns were found under the main stairway and under the dome, echoing the building's organic style. Following a model of many European city halls, the ground floor could be used for a courtroom or marketplace and the first floor contained a main auditorium and meeting rooms, with an extended balcony and towers used for speaking to the public.
With such a magnificent building, I hope that the restoration efforts continue so that the City Hall can show off some of its former majesty and be enjoyed by residents and visitors alike.
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