History of Sarajevo Timeline

Under Austro-Hungarian rule, for the first time in centuries, the city significantly expanded outside its traditional borders, developing new infrastructure and architecture.

The 1875–1877 Herzegovina uprising, an armed revolt by the local ethnic Serb population, began in July 1875 before spreading to the rest of the Bosnia Vilayet, weakening the Ottoman position in the region.

Image source: Herzegovina uprising (1875–1877)

Shaped by foreign minister Count Gyula Andrássy, Austria-Hungary identified the Near East as its next area of expansion. On 30 December 1875, Andrássy sent a dispatch to his predecessor Von Beust, then ambassador to the United Kingdom, advancing this policy.

Image source: Gyula Andrássy

The Treaty of San Stefano, imposed on 3 March 1878 by Russia upon the defeated Ottomans, confirmed the weakness of Ottoman authority. By spring, many Ottoman troops in the vilayet deserted after being left to their own means.

Image source: Treaty of San Stefano

Members of Sarajevo's Muslim landowning elite publicly supported the Austro-Hungarian occupation at an April 1878 meeting at the Emperor's Mosque, reasoning that the Ottoman Empire lacked the power to rule the land, while conservative clerics circulated petitions opposing it.

Image source: Emperor's Mosque

In a 21 April 1878 memorandum to the European powers, Austro-Hungarian foreign minister Gyula Andrássy proposed his Bosnia policy, making a case for a Habsburg occupation of the Bosnia Vilayet.

On 2 June 1878, a new petition, seen as a win for the leading Muslim landowners who purged it of its anti-Christian provisions, was formally submitted to governor Mazhar. On 8 June, an all-Muslim assembly appealed for recognition of a multi-confessional representative body drawn largely from Sarajevo.

On 28 June 1878, the terms of the Treaty of Berlin were announced. Its 25th point gave Austria-Hungary a mandate to 'occupy and administer the Bosnian Vilayet', though not to annex it. Simultaneously, over 80,000 Austro-Hungarian troops mobilized on the southeast border.

Image source: Treaty of Berlin (1878)

One day after the People's Government was proclaimed in Sarajevo, the Austro-Hungarian Army under feldzeugmeister Josip Filipović entered the Bosnia Vilayet at four crossings, swiftly seizing Banja Luka, Maglaj, and Jajce despite resistance ambushes.

Image source: Austro-Hungarian campaign in Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1878

In 1908, the territory was formally annexed and turned into a condominium jointly controlled by both Austrian Cisleithania and Hungarian Transleithania.

Image source: Bosnian Crisis

By 1910, Sarajevo was populated by just under 52,000 people, reflecting growth under Austro-Hungarian administration.

At the end of the Great War and as part of the 1919 Paris Peace Conference, Austria-Hungary ceased to exist, and Sarajevo became part of the newly formed South Slav state.

Image source: Paris Peace Conference (1919–1920)

Following a German bombing campaign, Sarajevo was taken by the Wehrmacht on 15 April 1941. At the time, the city had 85,000 people: 34% Muslim, 29% Catholic Croat, 25% Orthodox Serb, and 10% Jewish.

Image source: World War II in Yugoslavia

By late April 1941, over a thousand Ustaše Militiamen had been assigned to Sarajevo, beginning a period of persecution. In August 1941, about 100 Sarajevo Serbs were arrested on allegations of belonging to the Chetniks or Partisans.

Image source: Ustaše

On 12 October 1941, a group of 108 notable Muslim citizens signed the Resolution of Sarajevo Muslims, condemning Ustaše persecution of Serbs, distinguishing participating Muslims from the whole population, and demanding security for all citizens regardless of identity.

Between 5–9 April 1943, Sarajevo was visited by the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem, Amin al-Husseini, as part of a recruiting tour for the 13th Waffen SS Handschar division.

Image source: 13th Waffen Mountain Division of the SS Handschar (1st Croatian)

Sarajevo was liberated on 6 April 1945 by Partisan forces. Valter, the legendary resistance figure, was killed in the fighting on the day of the city's liberation.

Sarajevo hosted the 1984 Winter Olympics, a moment of international prestige for the city and Yugoslavia, leaving lasting sports infrastructure including the Trebević Cable Car.

Image source: 1984 Winter Olympics

During the siege, on the night of 25 August 1992, the besiegers intentionally shelled and destroyed with incendiary shells the irreplaceable Bosnia National and University Library. Among the losses were about 700 manuscripts and incunabula and a unique collection of Bosnian serial publications.

Image source: Vijećnica

During the Siege of Sarajevo, an average of 329 shell impacts occurred per day, with a high of 3,777 shell impacts recorded on 22 July 1993, making it one of the most intense bombardments of a capital city in modern history.

Image source: Siege of Sarajevo

Following the Dayton Accords and a period of stabilization, the Bosnian government declared the siege officially over on 29 February 1996. Most Serbs left Sarajevo shortly afterward in early 1996.

By 2003, following extensive post-war reconstruction, there were practically no ruins left in the city and bullet holes had become a rarity, marking Sarajevo's remarkable recovery.

One of the most widely accepted goals for post-war Sarajevo was to hold the Winter Olympics again in 2014. The bid ultimately failed, but the city continued pursuing major sporting events.

The Sarajevo City Center, which started construction in 2008, opened early to the public in 2014, becoming a major modern commercial landmark in the recovering city.

Image source: Sarajevo City Center

The Trebević Cable Car transportation system was rebuilt following its use during the 1984 Winter Olympic Games. The project cost 12,109,000 euros and was completed and opened to the public on 6 April 2018, symbolically on liberation day.

Image source: Sarajevo cable car

Though its Olympic bid failed, Sarajevo managed to hold the 2019 European Youth Olympic Winter Festival, the second major winter sports event in the city after the 1984 Winter Olympic Games.

Image source: 2019 European Youth Olympic Winter Festival

Between late 2019 and 2021, Sarajevo was hit with six aftershocks. The first three came in November 2019 from an earthquake in Nevesinje, followed by aftershocks from the Zagreb earthquake on 22 March 2020, the Petrinja earthquake on 29 December 2020, and the most recent reported on 3 March 2021.

Image source: 2020 Zagreb earthquake