Culture of Sarajevo

The Culture of Sarajevo is represented in various ways.

Numerous cultural festivals occur every year, such as the

Sarajevo Jazz Festival

.

Theatre

Numerous theatres are present in Sarajevo as well, such as the

National Theatre of Sarajevo. The first ever Bosnian opera was held in Sarajevo in 2003. Theatres are also an important part of Sarajevo culture. The first great Sarajevo theatre was the national theatre of Bosnia and Herzegovina, built in 1919 and surviving to this day. Prior to that, plays were often held in parks or at the large houses of wealthy families. Sarajevo also houses the Sarajevo Youth Theatre

.

Libraries

Sarajevo also holds many of the most famous historical texts in Bosnia and Herzegovina. They were largely held in the Sarajevo City (and University) Library that was built in 1896. Unfortunately Serbian ultranationalists purposely fired upon the building with incendiary shells. They succeeded in setting the building on fire, and along with it thousands of irreplaceable texts. Today an international effort is underway to replace what was lost.

In

Gazi Husrev-beg library was one of the largest and greatest in the Balkans

. Destroyed since, it is currently being rebuilt in a stunning modern form that will house many of the oldest texts found in the city.

Writers

Historically, Sarajevo was home to several famous Bosnian writers, poets and thinkers. Nobel Prize-winner Ivo Andrić attended high school in Sarajevo for two years. Multiple award-winning writer Zlatko Topčić is from the city.

Sarajevo is also home to the

Spanish inquisition

. As of late, modern art has flourished in the city as well.

Contemporary poet Semezdin Mehmedinović wrote Sarajevo Blues from inside the city during the siege of Sarajevo in 1992.

Cultural institutions

Sarajevo is home to a number of cultural institutions dedicated to upkeeping the city's culture. The notable Bosniak institute is housed in an impressive building in central Sarajevo, and features various interesting exhibits dealing with the city's and country's culture and history. Also notable are the International Center for Kids and Youth in

New Sarajevo and the Center for Sarajevo Culture

.

The most famous in all of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the

Museum of the City of Sarajevo, the War Childhood Museum and the Bosnian and Herzegovinian Museum of Literature

. There existed an impressive Olympic museum dedicated to the 84 games, but it was destroyed in warfare. Part of the exhibition has been relocated to a small exhibition hall on the site of the Zetra Stadium.